Tales of The Welder
by chronoman
Summary: The Welder: one of the most feared bounty hunters in all of Remnant. These are his stories of danger, intrigue, and violence. Rated T for violence and swearing. P.S. The Welder will seem O.P. at first but just wait to see what's in store for him. Sporadic Updates
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Monsters and Monstrosities

 _The most intriguing part of human nature is our unwillingness to settle for mediocrity. Even if you try to kill us we walk out of the grave. You think we aren't apart of your life but we become a thorn in your side. You put us down, disown us, and denounce any part of us that you could claim. Well listen to me, oh great wizard, I am sick of the way you're running things here. I am tired of being condemned by people like you, the ones who people ask me to pay a visit to. You know what the sad part of your institution is? The very thing you pride yourself on. At the end of the day what separates me from you? Is it schooling, judgement, ... perspective maybe? Here is the answer: a bad day, that's all that stands between me and you… Sincerely from one of the most wanted criminals on Remnant, The Welder._

Remnant is such an odd place to live. Don't get me wrong, I find it fascinating in many respects. To an amnesiac the idea of Aura, Dust, and the Grimm can seem like fiction. Yet to us it is reality, this world we fight with bow and arrows while we have flying airships. A world full of monsters and hunters to fight them. However, the term 'monster' can mean anything in my eyes, especially my eyes. To you they may seem as innocent people but I can see the filth and the lies, the atrocious deeds they have done, the people they have hurt. So I ask, is there no shame in becoming a judge, jury, and executioner? Apparently, you can become a hunter or a huntress and take the law into your own hands but the moment you do it without going to their precious academy you're seen as a monster. Wars may be fought with swords and guns but it is the perspective of the people that can win the world.

In this world there are many ways to protect society: you could become a police officer, firefighter, or the serve the military. Or if you wish to make a mockery of the idea of peace, you can become a huntsman, a more glorified version of a police officer. These people come in the name of peace but carry the weapons of war, quite the contradiction if I do say so myself. Then again the huntsman are provided by the one individual whom I hate the most. Yet here I stand not in the center of any of these ideas, I work in a more deadly profession, at least for my targets. I am what you call a bounty hunter, a mercenary, a freelancer if you will. But what is the difference between me and those who claim they are righteous: the funny thing is nothing, at least that is what I believe right now, I don't know if I will ever find an answer.

Most people do not know who I am and very few of the people who do know who I am know what I look like. Well as an introductory piece I am known as The Welder, will admit, wish there was a tag line at the end. As I mentioned before I'm a bounty hunter, I mainly kill people, only the sick thing is I don't care who I kill. For four years I've killed politicians, lawyers, White Fang leaders, and many a huntsmen in my days. As a disguise, in the extreme rare case that someone finds out who I am, I been known to wear a dark trench coat a la noire style with a classic style fedora, what else am I going to spend money on, with a long black and grey checkered scarf that covers my face along with round black goggles.

It was early in the autumn when I had just got done doing my latest job. A certain corrupt investigator who was able to escape conviction needed my assistance in the removal of his position, his physical location. It will surely make the headlines but I won't get to see the panels of reporters saying what the government should do about me and these people calling themselves 'bounty hunters', what a shame. The sun was beginning to set in a vast forest with the only company being the birds and the crunching of some leaves under my boots. The grass slowly waved in the breeze with the brown trees dropping more and more leaves dropped to the ground. It was a mostly clear sky with small splashes of orange invading the once blue sky. Walking farther into the forest a clearing came up ahead. From the clearing you could see a dropoff at the edge leading to a massive pasture. At the end of the pasture from afar looked like a village, their kingdom must've really pissed them off if they think that being outside the kingdom would be better. _Oh what the hell, I'm already out here let's see what we're looking at,_ I thought as I slid down the decline. As you would get closer you noticed that it was black, charred by the looks of it or maybe they have bland taste in decor.

Well me assumption was right, not a single piece of wood was left untouched by flames. The stone walls protecting the outside had huge holes blown in them with claw marks as well. _As much as I understand the Gimm, I don't believe they have access to explosives and if they do then I'm giving up they won,_ I muttered beneath my breath. Don't know when the village was attacked or, abandoned for that matter, but it looks like it was recent, maybe a week, four days at the least. The biggest building was in the middle, because of course it is, dilapidated with a broken roof and scorch marks covering every surface imaginable. Walking through the broken double doors all you could see was rubble, a collapsed roof, and more rubble. The wood groaned and cracked under my feet breaking the silence this town had come to known. Then from a doorway something snapped as out of the corner of my eye I saw two bare feet scuttle across the floor. As I walked closer to the doorway more and more noises were made as if something were trying to get away. Putting my two welding glove clad hands onto broken beams I pulled apart enough of the debris to make a sliver big enough for one of my eyes to see through.

"Is anybody there?" I calmly asked.

Nothing answered back, _Might've just been some falling debris,_ I thought to myself and began to listen my arms. Just as I was about to let go as a small girl slowly walked into the crevice of light. After taking a deep breath I ripped the beams apart big enough for her to see me and vice versa which led her to take a step back. She was a faunus, my guess would be a dog by the brown floppy ears, maybe ten years old at the most.

"What's a little girl like you doing in a place this?" I commented looking down at her.

She looked down and away, can't blame her I am pretty scary, and then she asked, "Are you a monster?"

Now usually speaking I hear this from the sum of the earth and well middle aged people not a small girl who I could probably shot put, "No, I'm not. Why would you think that?"

"Well you sound like a monster," she answered turning to her side looking back down.

I had completely forgotten about that as I chuckled little, what I'm a sick person, as with my hand I shifted a metallic object in my scarf that was around my mouth. It was a voice changer which comes in handy in scaring the living daylights out of people. "Well then," I said in my regular voice, "is that better? I'm flesh and blood just like you."

The little girl seemed a bit relieved when my voice became natural and began to step forward before some debris fell down.

"Do you think you could get me out here? She asked looking down to avoid the debris.

"Fine," I said clenching my left fist.

As my fist clenched my glove clinked with the metal apparatus inside it activating my weapon. A pipe frame clamped onto my arm sparked to life, well more like the welding torch on top in the middle of the clamp. Connected to cylinder it slowly started to spin till the the flame became an orange and red blur. Placing the flame on the debris with each spin the rubble crumbled away, wooden beams split into charred remains and the concrete separating in two. When there was enough rubble gone I reeled my fist back and launched my fist into the crumbled rubble smashing the doorway clear. The girl at this point was even more frightened than before I found her, and that looked pretty difficult enough already.

"What you act like you haven't seen a spinning welding torch before?" I sarcastically remarked.

I outstretched my hand while the other hand's welding torch slowly spun itself out with the flame retreating into the darkness from whence it came. She didn't move still, her eyes wider than a full moon, I sighed and turned my back.

"You can either come with me and tell me where to put you or you can be left out here to let the real monsters come for you."

As I began to walk out before she quickly sprinted and grabbed my trenchcoat burying her face in it. So I'm going to be honest here, I don't know how to deal with children, it was never a skill you generally pick up on when being a bounty hunter. So what does one do in that particular situation: you look up at the possibility of a deity, put your arms in exasperation, and scream in your head ' _What the hell did I do to you_ '. Taking a deep sigh I picked her up and put her at my side and we began to walk out into the forest.

The forest was quiet, peaceful, deceptive even as nightfall was approaching. If I was by myself then I would make the trek across in the thick of night, but I have a kid and I think that wouldn't be the best idea to have a tired kid in case of the 'monsters'. We found a root in a small clearing to sit on and watch the stars from an opening in the trees. I'm no stargazer but looking above and seeing the stars let's your mind come at ease, it may also make you feel smaller than an ant but hey what do you want?

Before nightfall had enveloped the whole forest I made a fire from igniting kindling with my torch, it's one of the many features of said weapon. With the fire sparking to life the quietness was interrupted by snaps and crackles filling the air with small sparks flying into the dark abyss.

"So then," I said breaking the silence between me and the girl who was sitting in an upright fetal position, "why don't you tell me about that village?"

She didn't move, she didn't even acknowledge my question for five minutes. If she could see my face then she would've seen my eyes roll and see me inhale a sigh for a good five seconds. "It was sunny day, I was playing with my friends, my mama was at the local market when the monsters came."

"Would these 'monsters' be black, furry, and an enormous amount of skeletal structure extruding outside of their bodies?"

"No they had cars and guns and they-the-," she started before she began to sob.

"*Sigh* Listen kid, get some rest, we'll get to that place you spoke of earlier in the morning."

She sniffled as she nodded and wiped her nose before laying next to the fire. When she fell asleep I stood up and put my hands in my pockets then looked into the black of the trees.

"Just what we need," I said to myself aloud, "human extremists, the opposite of the White Fang. As if we wanted another one, do you think there called the 'Black Fang'. Heh, who would've thought: The Welder, one of the most wanted criminals in all of Remnant and known killer would be helping out a little girl."

Then as if coordinated all the bushes began to move and shake with red eyes piercing through at every angle. I chuckled as I clenched both fist as my two torches roared to life, maybe not a roar but a squeal because let's be honest it's a torch not a car that would be completely insane. Judging by the growl, I had a small pack of beowulfs surrounding the two of us.

The charged at me from the side taking the bush it was behind with it. The beast leaped propelling itself faster at me. I grabbed its arm with one hand and brought down my other at the beast's shoulder blade slicing it off with the fiery blade. It whimpered, as most animals do, as I slapped the Grimm with its own arm till I stomped on its head making it dissolved into the air. Three more Beowulfs came at me all reaching with their claws. The first was used as a shield while I cut into its chest with my right torch with the left cutting into its head. With each stroke of the torches it jerked in reaction till it went limp, and like the one before it, it dissolved into ash. The other two swiped at me but simple sidesteps prevented them from hitting. I grabbed one of them and slowly seared through their arms and stuck their claws into their back, then ripped them down virtually gutting it. I kicked the husk of the body into the other one which made it fall over its own feet. I walked over and grabbed the Grimm by the dome and smacked it back into the dirt multiple times, when I grew bored of it I stomped on the beast's pathetic head. Soon all of the pack was around our little campsite, and surely the pack shrunk till it was nothing. Grimm lodge into tree trunks, an uppercut leading to a decapitation, and a Grimm burning alive. Frankly, not my best performance but by no means my worst, I've done worse with a two by four and a tupperware container. The most surprising thing was that the girl was still asleep during all of this, I mean sound asleep.

The next morning the girl woke up to me resting on the root where she last saw me as if nothing had happened, I know how to clean up a mess. She seemed a bit more chipper than yesterday, then again she didn't really have any guarantee that she would make it to this morning so I'll chalk it up to that.

I woke to her shaking me more than a nine point-o magnitude."What?!" I asked angrily, I like my sleep especially when taking out a Grimm pack I mean I do kill for a living but I'm only human. "What do you want representative of the Lollipop Guild?"

"I want to get to the village," she replied in the most annoying tone imaginable.

"Ugh," I groaned as we got walking after I cracked nearly all the bones in my body in a morning routine like sequence. We began to walk as the trees cleared out before I asked the girl a question that had been bugging me for a while. "What is your name young one?"

"My name is Faith," she happily chirped.

I stopped in my tracks right there, I don't know why but that name brought up something that didn't sit right with me. The village was far, she said it would take all day for them to go back for supplies when her dad would go with the caravan. It doesn't mean much to me how far it is, I just want to get back to doing some jobs and then figure out what to spend the money one. I don't know what the journey might entail but it would just have to wait like all good things….


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Fiction and Fairy Tales

 _What is the point of your pointless bickering? You claim you want equality but don't exercise you supposed muscle. I don't care whether you are white, black, rich, poor, human, or otherwise you all die the same. You beg for mercy, you squirm beneath my feet, you fight back but you end up in the same place like all the others in my eyes. Who is left after this crusade of so called 'justice' is over? You ignore the plights of the slain, their bodies pile up on your lawn staining the roots of the grass and trees. Then when the trees are cut the seeds and saplings fall and grow into red stained trees that make your lands undesirable. These future trees will be your downfall when they fall and crush everything you stand for. But if you care for the current trees which are aging you set the example of what a gardener should be. I may not be the perfect human being but I know how to take care of those in need. Sincerely from the unbiased judge, jury, and executioner, The Welder._

A large field of grass was the only obstacle once we had gotten out of the forest. It flowed its golden tendrils as a breeze whipped through along with the sash that kept my trenchcoat closed. The girl named Faith looked up at me as we stopped pulling on my coat which made me look down.

"Well what are we waiting for?" I asked.

In the middle of the field was a road created by repetition and necessity rather than concrete and preference. The dead grass and tire tracks gave us a good path to walk along. By midday you could see the 'village' as she described. From a hill I used a function in my goggles to basically become binoculars. That 'village' she was talking about had good walls, defenses, guards, the whole nine yards plus another yard. You could probably live there and be fine for a few good years before a kingdom gets angry at you. It was late by the time we arrived at the front gate which was a large door, very proper in carving style. A guardsman stopped me as the girl was behind me in case of trouble.

"Halt there sir," he demanded, "what's your business?"

From his voice you could tell he was young, maybe early twenties, and young people are easy to scare. So shifting the device in my box while pretending to cough I replied with my distorted, "I seek asylum."

"I'm sorry sir, I can't let you in, we've been receiving threats."

I walked closer so I was right in front of the kid who was growing more nervous by the second, you could hear the lance-gun combo weapon starting to shake, "I never told you who the asylum was for," as the brought the girl to my side.

The guard eyes grew wide and quickly knocked on the door. "Open up!" He yelled, "we've got another survivor!"

The door slowly creaked and groaned opened until they stopped to let the two of us in along with the guard who ran past us. For it being the night there was still a large group of people walking around the streets. The people stopped what they were doing, dead in their tracks, just staring at me and then the girl as she grabbed my coat. An old woman slowly walked from the street with the door guard at her side and two middle aged men. The main thing I noticed about this village was that they were all faunus, I haven't seen a single regular human from the group shown to m.

"He's the one I talked about," the guard pointed out with his finger pointed at me.

The old woman looked at me for quite some time, her hands behind her back as her back was slumped by years of living. Her head going up and down with her eyes growing more quizzical with each cycle. Then she looked at the girl who by now was dead tired and leaning on my leg. She sighed and shook her head, "Well what do you want, Welder?"

"How surprising," I responded, "my reputation precedes me. I just want to return the girl, no funny business."

"Now why would you want to do that? I'm familiar on who you are the ways you extort people only to kill them later. You're nothing but a cold blooded murderer," she stated, her tone of voice made me feel like I was being preached to.

As much as I like to hear people talk about my work, I was pretty tired, I hadn't gotten a good night's rest in three days. I may be The Welder but I'm still a human. "You know what," I snarked, "there is something I need. Answers, explain to me why this girl was left in a broken and dilapidated building for the Grimm to get her? So if you could get me that then maybe, just maybe, I won't burn down this village like the last one."

Now here is something about me that is really important to know from here on out: I have no filter when it comes to what I say so what you get is the uncensored version. Now add in the fact that I'm dealing with an old woman and you can see the issues with the absence of my filter.

"Come with me and bring Faith with you," she told me as she turned and walked down the path she came.

The people who were on the street stepped back with every step I walked past them as Faith stumbled being pulled by my hand. We eventually caught up to the old woman with one of the middled aged men at her side whispering in her ear.

"I will take Faith from your hands, Harold will take her to her my house," she said motioning to the middled aged man.

The man named Harold walked over and after thirty seconds of me staring at him, almost reluctantly, I handed him Faith who was so tired she couldn't even tell what was going on. They walked away with her in his arms probably already asleep. I then turned to the old woman who was in, I guess, her natural state. Slouched, arms behind her back with nothing but an empty stare and a frozen frown. She lead me down to a private little clearing behind the village where you could see a different forest if the darkness of night didn't enshroud it.

"We left the Kingdom of Vale many years ago when Faith's mother was just a teenager to venture into the dangerous wilderness," she began, "for many years after that we set up many places that we thought would be a great place until natural and monstrous forces led us to this place as our new home away from society's view of us. It wasn't until Faith's father eventually ridded this place of the Grimm, and in bravery the decided to create a second village, not far from this one. It worked for a while but then a hate group found out we existed and harassed us, giving us threats. We believed they were empty and told them to leave but they must've found out of my daughter's village. We didn't hear about it till we saw the first survivors telling us of the horrors that had happened. A group went down to see any more people were hiding, but we couldn't find any. I thank you for finding my granddaughter, but I don't believe you should stay here, if anyone in the kingdom were to find out we were harboring you we might face worse than an army, an entire world that would be against us."

I stood silent just looking out into the forest with a small breeze coming through making my scarf flow with the wind. "I see," I calmly bellowed, in somber a tone, "I at least need a place to rest for the night, I am still just a person after all. After that I will say goodbye to your granddaughter and never return."

She seemed perplexed at the very end request. "For a killer you definitely don't appear to be the type, did something happened to you?"

"I've just been reminded of someone from long ago," I replied staring into the dark abyss, "and a promise I need to keep.

She lead to a shed, not glamorous by any means, and said I could sleep there for the rest of the night. It looked like an old workshop abandoned years ago, with a large object underneath a white dusty old sheet. After removing it and letting the dust settle an old car revealed itself. It was sleek black with the cab all the way in the back with engine taking up the rest. If it could talk it would beg to be used once again, it seemed fate had an odd way of showing itself to me. Laying my back up against the wall I looked around at the holes in the roof leaking in the moonlight and closed my eyes letting the sleep deprivation get to me.

The morning light peered through the walls reminding myself I still walk the earth. After systematically cracking every bone in my body I walked through the door back into the village going about its daily business. The market was alive selling fruits, vegetables, and handcrafted goods that were incredibly overpriced. I took a good look around and grabbed a wooden carving of a chapel that was incredibly detailed, I've never been a man of religion but sometimes you have to wonder. Throughout the market parents were giving me sneers, children were pointing at me before parents hurried themselves away, and the ones who didn't look simply walked across from me even if it meant running into other people. I got to the gate where Faith and I arrived last night and took a nice long look at what was ahead for me. Before I was about to walk something hugged on my legs. When I looked behind I saw Faith which made me crack a smile; I put my hand on her head and turned to her while getting eye level.

"What's wrong kiddo? I asked patting her head.

"You're leaving, but you just got here?" She asked putting her head down.

Her grandmother came up beside her. "Ah, don't worry, I'm like the common cold; if you get rid of me one way, I'll just come back a bit different."

I stood back up and nodded to the old woman before walking back into the plain from whence I came. The trip was much longer than I remembered, maybe it was Faith's constant nagging of: "are why there yet?", that was missing. The forest from where the Grimm had attacked in the night was soon the only I could see walking through it. Nothing but broken trees and thoughts surrounded me as I trekked through. It was the beginning of dusk as the sky was tinted orange just as I heard the sound of engines. I quickly ran into the foliage and peered through the leaves as four ATVs zipped across with people, mostly males by the sounds, hooting and hollering chanting something that was incomprehensible over the sounds of the engines. Once they had left I walked out with my hands in my coat pockets just staring, thinking what the hell they were doing. Then I remembered what the guard told me: " _...we've been receiving threats..."_. My heart and mind went to a straight conclusion: the monsters had returned. I began to run with the tracks they had left out of the forest and back to the village. Looks like Faith would see me again after all.

Night had fallen by the time I had gotten close to the village. Fires were lit at the entrance with the ATVs in a circle with what seemed like a demonstration. Without letting myself being noticed I got close enough to hear.

"You damn animals!" The one who was doing most of the talking yelled at the villagers who were assembled at the front, "You think you could run from us! Well you're just as dumb as the !#$%^&* animals you are then! *begins to laugh*"

The whole group began to laugh with him. As much as I don't agree with the White Fang, the types of scum who are just as worse need to either be erased or eradicated. Taking a deep breath then calmly exhaling I saw my arms, legs, and hands slowly disappear blending into the night. I was pretty used to that seeing as how it was my Semblance, will admit I think I let my invisibility go to waste sometimes but hey what can one man do. I grabbed a stone and took a good look at the opposition. Throwing it once and catching to get a sense of its weight I launched it at an unsuspecting extremists. It was like an on-off switch, just bam, they hit the ground almost like in a cartoon from this distance. The leader shut up as the whole multitude of people jumped up as the man fell unconscious. The head blabber mouth motioned two others to go check it out. The poor sons of ! #$%^ had to try and stop me when I was invisible, I almost felt sorry for them. As they got closer you could hear them start to talk.

"Well do you see anything?" One of the grunts asked.

"If I saw something, I would say so," the other snarked in response.

I had to agree with the second one, if you're going to look for something why wouldn't you say something if you saw the thing you were looking for. I stood in the middle of the makeshift road as the two walked into me. The two freaked out and looked all around, scared beyond belief. As they turned around with one bringing his sword out I lodged my elbows into their hips. They stumbled to the side as my hands grabbed the sides of their heads and smacked them together. The two fell to the ground seemingly knocked out cold, they're kind of weaklings. I walked back to the village gate cracking my knuckles, still invisible mind you. The leader looked back towards the field expecting the two to return at any moment, but they didn't. You could tell he was frustrated just by his facial and bodily expressions. He grabbed a woman from the crowd and pinned her down and grabbed a gun.

"Whatever is going on, you will stop it now or I will shoot this piece of ! #$ faunus!" He shouted at the crowd holding the woman by the collar.

I wanted to see how desperate he was going to get and stood next to another one of the extremists with my arms crossed. Many minutes passed and he was now sweating profusely and breathing heavily with so much twitching involved I thought he would've accidently pulled the trigger by now.

"I'm going to give you three damn seconds! And if you're not out here with the rest of you faunus scum then I'll shoot!" He yelled, "One...Two…"

"Three!" I my now garbled voice interrupted as I grabbed the neck of the extremist next to me catching the attention of everyone.

To the regular person it looked like the man was being picked up by a ghost who had a really strong grip as I lifted him above the ground, being a bit over six and a half feet tall lets me do that. His arms flailing like a fish out of water trying to grasp my hand and pry it off. The choke-and-lift move is probably one of my favorite things to do to people because it's so menacing. When I grew bored of his flailing I turned to my right and slammed him into the hood of the ATV closest to us. With him out of my grip and lodge into the vehicle choking and coughing I let my invisibility disappear revealing myself. The group of extremists just looked at me in fear while the village had a look of hope, and by the looks of it they needed that hope. Instinctively my fingers twitched which to ordinary person would seem odd but my torches respond to certain combinations, think of it like typing in key commands. Once I 'typed' in the command I clenched my fists, think of it like the 'Enter' key, and from my torch a blue flame shot out from the torch's chamber. I charged the leader but a female extremist ran in and brought up a sword in defense, how quaint. I grabbed her hand that held the sword and brought the blade up to my torch. After two rotations the bent the sword on itself and punched her square in the nose now that there wasn't anything obstructing the path of my fist. With my other hand I let go and kneed her followed by a quick kick to the stomach. Out of the corner of my eye I saw two of them pull out guns. I ran behind the ATV that still had the extremist still moaning in pain after being shoved down it like a feeding tube. Multiple shots rang out just as I got behind it. Opening the door I began to melt the hinges and the brackets holding the door away like ice cream, I'm a little hungry now. Once enough had been melted away I ripped the door off and waited for them to reload their guns, I can't believe they were wasting that much ammo. Like a frisbee I chucked the door at the two which basically clotheslined them which gave a certain *thud* like sound when it hit their stomachs. The others weren't worth the effort, idiots who tried charging me, the classic three-on-one that ended with me winning and the three on the ground, and of course some guy trying to run me over with a car. Well the car was pretty cool as I cut wheel axle in two leading to crash into the wall. But at the end, was the leader cowering behind the only undamaged ATV, I found it quite surprising actually that one survived. I picked him up by his collar with my two hands so he was eye level with my goggles.

"I'm going to teach you a lesson, are you ready?" I growled at him stopping my torches.

*Gulp* "Y-y-y-yes," he sniffled.

I grabbed the back of his head and began to smash his face in between what I was saying, "This village...and every other village you think is vulnerable...is under my protection...The Welder's protection...so if I ever see you're cowering face again I will rip out your tongue and shove it through your eyeballs." I finished by whipping him across the ground, miraculously he stood back up and ran into the forest where monsters like him belong, maybe the Grimm would have a dissatisfying snack tonight.

When it was all said and done I saw the old woman who was smiling now and I walked towards her. "Told you, I'm like the common cold."

"Maybe, but a cold is a bad thing at my age," she sarcastically remarked, "but I guess it's a good thing so we can strengthen our immune systems. I guess the world will just have to deal with us letting you call this place home."

"Maybe, but I'm not ready to settle down yet, I still got things to do, but if you want to really help me…"

Three days later from that old shed came the roar of an engine as the long sleek back car that was once abandoned was given new life. From inside the car I waived to the villagers who I had earned the respect from and before I left the gates I saw Faith to see me off.

"Well, looks like you got your wish after all," I said to her.

"Thank you for coming back to save us."

"Oh he wasn't going to kill anybody. Did you see the look on his face? He hadn't fired a gun in his life."

"Really?"

"When you analyze people for your job you get to understand them, I'll teach you when I come back."

"When will that be?"

That made me pause for a minute but after a little hard thinking I made a good answer. "When the job's done."

After that I drove off, not really into the sunset but just off to where I called home. A small warehouse that was set up for a potential mining district in Vale that turned out to be a bust. If they didn't care about the place then why would they care about it now. When I get home I'm going to take a nap and worry about everything else in the morning...


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Companions and Cronies

 _This may seem a little odd of me to ask you, but do you have friends? I know it is out of the blue, and no I don't want to be one of your compatriots before you ask. It has been a long time since I had a friend to question my every move, or hit me upside the head when I did something stupid. I frankly find it hard to believe that a person like me would need a friend but I find myself almost longing for one nowadays. Yet, I feel like reality will assert its dominance once it shows that a person who could relate to a wretch like myself cannot exist. It is hard for people like you and me, put on a shelf so high like a trophy or award that they feel like is impossible to achieve. And so the trophy will grow old with dust until a new award is placed up for grabs... Sincerely, from the loneliest mortal atop Mount Olympus, The Welder._

The sound of metal falling onto metal awoke my tired body from ts resting position of my head buried in my arms. My attention was focused on the two pieces of metal that collided against one another and bent down from my stool to pick it up. After putting on the workbench I slept on I stood up and cracked every bone in my body finishing with my neck. I looked around the worn warehouse that I called 'home'. Multiple holes in the roof, windows, and walls let in light with a little bit moss growing on the outside. It's been about a week and a half since I left the faunus village, and Faith. The car I took from them as a 'payment' sat all shiny in the middle of the warehouse just before a pile of rubble that had been overtaken by grass. After fumbling through numerous shelves and cabinets I found a knob to turn on a radio nearby. I'm one of those crazy people who listens to radio news in this day and age. They didn't talk about anything really worth noting; sob stories, the weather, where the next Vytal Festival was going to be, you know the usual stuff. While listening I was tinkering, cause I'm a madman. What I was working on was small, and very dangerous. After several hours and many swear words later I yelled at the top of my lungs, "Eureka", as I held a small cylindrical canister. So a little lesson about my two torches or as I like to call them, Reason A and Reason 2, 'A' is on the left and '2' is on the right (yes I know it doesn't make sense but I use damn welding torches what do you want). Welding torches need a source of fuel, and since I can't create a fuel source smaller than a one inch cylinder, I use a homebrew formula with dust to make this liquid fuel that is stashed in a pack attached to my back. It contains a three by three storage for canisters that hold the fuel. The main problem with it is I've made too many than I know what to do with, I don't really run out of fuel on a job. So I thought to myself, what is the best use of a liquid that is ignited and in a canister system, make a long story short: remote detonators. Yes, the best thing to give a man who has a habit of killing most people who stand in their, detonators. Now obviously I created a remote in case one gets out of my reach or is used against me. It goes from one, to two, to three, or all the bombs transmitting a signal (because if I'm using more than three then I'm blowing up a really big thing).

It was probably just before dusk when I left the warehouse to go to the place where I usually find my jobs: one of the small towns on the coastline of Vale. Yes I could go to Mistral and find 'my people' but I hate nature, Vacuo is too chill for my taste, and Atlas is well… Atlas. I also didn't have a mode of getting me anywhere faster than walking, I mean I could've ridden a bike but I'm not some idiot (I'm crazy but not stupid). The town was an hour drive and I parked it out behind an alley, I've made some 'modifications' to it to avoid some poor unlucky sod stealing my new baby. I walked up to the front and took a big whiff of alcohol and blood before walking looking up at the sign of this 'fine' establishment, with big light bulb letters and an image that fit the title it read: The Leaky Pipe. Upon opening the door you saw a bartender in the back polishing mugs, somebody with their back on the table being held by the collar, people in suits who obviously didn't belong there, other people who looked like they shouldn't be roaming the streets in freedom, gambling, and the inglorious activity of 'chugging contests'. Ah, how I love this place.

When I walked in the whole room went silent and they all stared at me all except the bartender who was squinting at a glass, they knew who I was and they should after all this has been known to give me some of my more 'famous' inquiries. In the very corner next to the old bartender was a table, a simple wooden round table with two chairs; the perfect configuration in my mind. I sat taking a breath, _this is where I belong_ , I thought to myself.

"Hugo!" I yelled making a motion with my hand, "Bring me a glass of water!"

The old man came from his position and brought me a glass of water with ice floating. "Have we grown bored Welder?" He asked placing a second glass on the opposite end.

"Come on Hugo this is the place that I get all my fun jobs."

The minutes turned to hours and night became even more quiet, the desperate people had already come by with their offers. The greener hunters had already taken them, the older you are at this the more you realize that the best jobs come to you. Closing time was approaching and nothing had peaked my interest, when you're one of the most wanted criminals in the world you get to be a bit choosey. Most of the chairs were up on tables when the door flew open which caught everybody's attention. A man in a white tuxedo with black shades with a briefcase was standing in the doorway.

"I am looking for a man who calls himself 'Ze Welder," he proclaimed in a heavy german accent.

All at once with what little people were in the room slowly turned and pointed at me sitting at my little table. You couldn't see it but underneath my scarf I had a smile that would scare the devil out of his wits. As he walked closer he suddenly got a lot shorter we're talking about five foot on the the man got to the table he placed the briefcase on the table with the clips holding it facing him. He sat down and snapped his fingers; a glass of water was brought to his side of the table.

"Well I finally found you," he noted.

"Why am I in trouble," I joked.

"No, not at all," he said clipping the case open and bringing out a file filled with pictures, notes, and many more papers, "'ze man in the pictures is a lawyer by 'ze name of Horatio Sherwood. Recently he was investigated for corruption with a few judges as 'vell. While 'ze other judges were found guilty he wasn't. But I know he is, being a lawyer I 'ze same firm I knew what he was doing behind 'ze scenes. I need you to kill him or bring him to justice with a few parts, uh how do you say it, removed from his person."

"If you had this information already why didn't you go to the police? This doesn't sound like a job for a hitman such as myself and more like a private investigator."

"We didn't know how far this whole case had reached, so I didn't know who to trust in this position, 'zen you appeared on 'ze local news about your latest, um, work."

"Well you could say I'm flattered, how much?"

"Ah, right to 'ze chase," he said turning the case around so I could see the Lien, "1.5 million Lien, right there, no funny business."

One of the many skills you learn as a bounty hunter is reading the client, he was new to this which is what I loved. When they're new they haven't picked up on the bad habits. "Alright my little friend you have a deal, I will make sure Mr. Sherwood is gone by tomorrow evening."

"What do you want with the money?" He asked as I stood up.

"Don't worry I'll pick it up," I chuckled as I walked out the door.

"Before you go!" he yelled, "There may be others after him so you might have some competition!"

 _Oh, please I'm 'The Welder' I have no competition,_ I thought to myself walking out the doorway. Returning home to my disheveled warehouse seemed to take forever, the road appeared longer in the blackness of night. The headlights shining on the ground for split seconds as I sped through the rough makeshift road. I parked the car in the warehouse where it had been left and began to search through the databases and numerous sources on this Mr. Sherwood. This guy made bank; lavish home, personal security, and a lot of enemies when it came to the White Fang. Apparently he forced many faunus out of their homes, supposedly charges of unruly and disruptive behavior with their 'partying'. When they retaliated to the police they got arrested and they all just vanished, perhaps this Mr. Sherwood had grabbed a certain bull by the horns.

As I was finishing up the aerial layouts of his home a twig was snapped and an odd blob swished past one of the broken windows. While I have had visitors in the forms of huntsmen teams traveling through, they never got too close to my sanctuary. I stepped outside and nothing but the moon stared back, at least not in the open. It was quiet (aw hell let's be cliche), too quiet as, not even a bird flew into the cloudy sky. I stared at the trees going back and forth between to dark gaps and saw a glimmer and a grey object zoom at my face. The last words of my client beamed back in my head, " _There may be others after him so might have some competition,"_ a small chuckle came from me as my 'competition had arrived.

Before the pointed grey object pierced my face I grabbed it with my amazing twitch reflexes. That's when I noticed it the object was a kunai connected to a chain, a very long chain, I gave an exasperated sigh as I felt a tugging on the chain and winced for the inevitable pulling of my body into a tree. The pulling never came instead a second kunai came for my stomach, the jerk (if you're going to use chains then use it to pull me in like a fish). Awkwardly forcing me body to go around the kunai missed my stomach and streaked for a damaged wall of my warehouse.

"Don't blow anymore holes in it, I still got to make the security deposit on it!" I joked to my unseen attacker.

I felt the chain in my hand tug some more along with the other chain strain to move as it got lodged in a crevice. _Oh this is going to be fun,_ I thought to myself slowly wrapping the chain around my hand a few times and grabbing the second tightly. With a force that could've uprooted a tree in the middle of a summer's day. I felt tension from the chains previously become nothing and soon enough my attacker came flying through the woods. One issue with my plan as he came barreling forward, when I pulled I did it towards me which means his trajectory was towards me. This guy was smart because they figured that out too and next thing I knew I felt a fist force itself into my gut. I flew backwards along with my attacker into the wall where the second chain was just above my shoulder. The attacker pulled out the chain from afar as they flipped backward into a fighting stance which let me stand back up into a menacing pose of me cracking my knuckles, at least I thought it was menacing. Getting a better look at the ambusher you tell it was male by the body structure and that he was a samurai, an odd thing to see nowadays. The chains he used to attack me were wrapped along the armor with hooks so they stay in place, couldn't imagine how heavy that would be seeing as these were chains used for cranes by the looks of it. His mouth and nose was covered by an ancient style mask that I've come to know as a mempo that was blood red, a angry sneer was blazen across it, with a fake mustache made of fibers that would be from a clean paint brush. The top of the attacker's head was a samurai helmet, or kabuto, that covered his eyes with a black visor that gleamed off the moonlight (what can I say? Covering our eyes is a concept we all adhere to). On his waist was a sword, probably a kitana (just going to take a stab in the dark, no pun intended) tied with a strap that dangled.

The samurai lowered his shoulders and put his fists up near his face and quickly shifted his right arm so the kunai tipped chain rested in his hands. I started Reason A which became a great source of light in the thick of blackness. I leaped forward and raised Reason A skyward and swung at the samurai. Putting his arms in an 'X' he stopped my torch from going any farther with the erupting of its flame illuminating his face where you could see the details in his mempo, quite interesting. He pushed back at my arms which made me step back and flourished his chain at me and the ground till he had about five feet of chain which he then proceeded to swing the chain in a circle. After pulling his second chain to his hand the samurai threw the chain he had been swinging. After doing a bad reincarnation of the limbo I activated Reason 2 while dodging a second chain by jumping and ran at him with my arms at my sides. I attempted an uppercut but to no avail as he good reflexes. After ducking his head hu lunged a chain wrapped knuckle which hit my jaw which probably jarred a few marbles out, after resetting it back I got a sudden urge to beat the living ! #$ out of next attack was a hook from Reason 2 which caught him off guard sending him sprawling to the dirt. In retaliation he swept my feet with a sudden swing of a chain while he stood back up. He swung the two chains while I was still on the ground; simply rolling let me miss the iron knuses. Doing a fancy spinning move I stood back up and we were back to where we were, just many bumps and bruises later. While neither one of us could see each others eye, we both felt like we could stare into the others and know what was going to happen next. He threw a chain, kunai tip first, but I have already adapted. Sidestepping I grabbed the chain by the links and wrapped it around my arm like before but began to spin myself like in a hammer throwing competition. I'm a very strong individual and let me say that either it is all the armor and chains or this guy is heavy. But grinning and bearing it the samurai flew in the air hitting trees and the walls of the warehouse with the finale bringing him down like hammering on a railroad spike. He plummeted with a poof of dirt shooting up with the first noise he made: *ugh* as he held his held. I stepped, you could almost say lightly stomped, on his chest turning off my torches and look down at him.

"You have a few questions to answer, samurai," I told him.

He groaned and held his head with two fingers, by the way his skin flexed and stretched he was wincing a little bit, "Yeah like what?" Were his first words in a very deep and calm voice that could probably make reading the phonebook interesting.

"Well for starters, who are you?"

After a few moments of contemplation, "My name is Takeda."

"Now is that your real and final answer?"

"Yes, I choose not to hide behind a fake name like a coward."

"Listen 'Takeda' you don't seem to realize that I am the one with all the power and if you tempt me, I will kill you, and I like to have fun," I said rather pissed off with that earlier comment (I mean who doesn't like codenames!?).

"Then I will die a warrior's death, an honorable death given by a scum of Remnant."

"You're making it really hard for me to like you, and that's hard because you did the one thing that nobody else has been able to do my dear samurai."

"And what's that Welder?"

"You found me, and you attacked me. Ot just that but you put up a fight, something I rarely, if ever, have to deal with."

"Well yippee," he sarcastically noted.

"But let me guess as to why you attacked me. You are hunting Mr. Sherwood just like me and you would rather not have to deal with competition."

"Maybe in essence. Unlike you I don't kill unless they ask for it or they deserve it, not when somebody asks me to. I have been ask to get evidence of Mr. Sherwood admitting to the deeds he has supposedly committed."

I took my foot off the samurai, "well then it seems we have come to an agreement," I announced.

"What 'agreement'?" He asked cautiously.

"You and I while go after , we will get what you need and since I don't need to kill him for my bounty I won't kill the poor miserable sap, we'll be just bringing him back in the trunk," I said putting my arm on his shoulder walking back to the warehouse. "Don't worry we'll get him but we should rest, who knows what our auras are at, while I do like a challenge, I don't want bullet holes in this nice trench coat (it just got cleaned). But don't worry my grey armored clad compatriot, we'll get Mr. Sherwood, it will just have to wait till the morning…"


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Murder and Martyrs

 _In all my years of being of being a hitman I don't think I've seen such a juicy target. Yes you can say it is overly ambitious and will probably get me killed but look on the bright side, you get rid of me for as long as time continues. Besides, ambition is the brother of innovation and you need that. Honestly, what would you do without me? I'm a symbol for all that you despise. I don't align myself with a faction or side that demands we be put into one group, I contradict what you have upheld and called 'sacred', and I love to poke fun at what I do. I admit it, I'm a sick son of a ! #$%, which almost makes me more dangerous than most. If you put a sane person on the spot about their insecurities they grow paranoid, mad, and question what they stand for. Me, oh I'm too far gone to reason with, I have grown to the point where I logically can condone the things I do. You won't find me frazzled by the things you say, I might actually agree with you on some point. Sincerely from one madman to another, The Welder._

It was the beginning of the dusk when the sky was turning orange but blue still hung on the clouds like a broken branch stuck on a tree. Of course I couldn't be bothered to notice as I was busy at table with sparks and small bits of metal flying of a helmet that belonged to my found 'compatriot' Takeda. After removing his armor I was able to get a better look at the samurai's armor. While ornate in theme, he made it very practical; hooks to keep the chains he wrapped around his arms from falling off willy-nilly. His helmet had a tactical visor that let him see in multiple views was what he told me when I was about to rip it apart to see if I could make a better. I replaced damaged pieces with the best replicas I could make, which is pretty damn good mind you, while giving it a few upgrades. Sure I've had to stay up all night but I do that enough already so it didn't bother me. Takeda woke up after sleeping all day from our scuttle last night, an ice pack was pressed up against his short brown hair where he had developed a bump. I swear I don't have the slightest clue where he would've received such a nasty bump.

"What are you doing?" He asked in an annoyed tone.

"I am making you some new armor," I replied taking the grinder off, "think of it as an apology."

"For what? Kicking my ass?"

After nodding to myself I gave him a different answer, "We'll just say it's for anything I do in the future."

He took a long look at it, grabbing pieces and putting them back down, rotating, and sizing them next to his older armor. "Sorry but I must decline."

"And why would that be?" I asked thoroughly surprised, "Were my calculations off, the color scheme not right, oh wait don't tell me you're a filthy carbon fiber person."

"No it isn't that, it's just that," he began before looking at his old armor which had been placed on the table beside the new version for a good long time finally picking up the helmet and staring into the visor, "it's an old family heirloom."

"Heh, oh well then," I said picking up the new pieces and placing them in a big bin full of other bits of metals, "I can find a new use for those."

"What just like that, no remorse or comment on how long it took you, nothing to make me feel guilty?" Takeda questioned.

"It's metal, metal can be melted down and changed however you please, besides I've spent a week making a catapult the size of a small airship," I commented.

Takeda stood there, with a 'are kidding me look' then promptly saying the magic question: "Why?"

"It was midday and the only thing on were stupid talk shows with forty to fifty year old something ladies talking about crap that doesn't involve them, so I started working on a catapult to launch them all into space. I didn't look at the clock until it was a week past. Still have it I think."

"No, no you don't need to find it!"

"Oh why not? We can launch you to Mr. Sherwood's house, it would just take about three hours if the winds were perfect."

"You figured out how long it would take for me to get there by catapult?"

"If you prefer I could make you a trebuchet? We can use all the armor I spent hours making as a weight. How was that for a retort!" I suggested already starting to think of designs in my head.

You know those looks that have that demeanor of 'shut up or I'm going to kill you?'? That was the look Takeda was giving, and damn he was good at it.

"Just get ready, we're going to pay our little friend of ours a visit in ten," I told Takeda breaking the silence.

I left Takeda to his own devices while I grabbed a belt of my refined grenades with the remote detonator going in my coat pocket. After placing fresh canister of patent pending fuel into the pack attached to my back I clamped the Reason A and Reason 2 on my corresponding arm. I leaned up against the hood of my suped up monstrosity of a car when Takeda followed in his old armor, if he dies all I'm going to say is I told him so. The engine roared to life, the ground below it glowed orange and red from the glow of the engine. Clouds were starting to come in more aggressively, with each making the sky a bit more darker, the night would be with us. Two hours later of silence we arrived at Mr. Sherwood's estate, the man knows how to live large, a huge white mansion with a long almost maze-like backyard. There must've been a party tonight because a long line of people and cars were lighting up the night sky. We stopped out on a ledge overseeing the whole estate, getting a good side view.

"We'll have to go through the back," Takeda said looking through his visor, "there may be more guards but we don't have to deal with unnecessary violence with people who are trying to have fun.

"Oh, come one where's you're sense of adventure my samurai friend?" I asked putting my arm around his shoulder.

"Where you slammed me into ground."

 _Good point_ , I thought nodding to myself, "Okay then, let's split and meet at the back door."

"What you're crazy we'll be going into them head on, it's suicide."

"Wouldn't be the first time for me, and definitely won't be the last," I said jumping off the ledge we were just on.

Sliding down was fun, if you like kicking up dirt and going body-first into a hedge. After ripping the inside of the hedge apart I dramatically out of the hedge, at least it would've looked dramatic in slow motion (life finds a way). A black suited bodyguard with stereotypical shades jump scared himself. As the pistol he reached for was coming up I roundhouse kicked it out of his palm and grabbed him the arm. I pulled on him and as he stumbled forward and uppercutted his chin knocking him cold while doing an impressive flip, quite the feat for a cookie cutter security personnel. Going through the maze I was running through guards trying to keep as quiet as possible. While sprinting I vaulted myself on top of a guard and tossed him as momentum carried me through the other side. When I let go he got stuck in the hedge and I took his badge off him, he won't be needing it anymore. As I got closer to the door I tried to communicate with Takeda, we put earpieces before we did this (we're professionals what do you take me for?).

"Takeda," I radioed in, "I'm close to the door how about you?"

No answer for a few minute but then the sound of fighting screeched its way into the earpiece. I saw a guard go high into the air. _At least he gives me a signal_ , I sighed shaking my head, _this is why I work alone._ By the time I got there Takeda was being a bad 'a' double 's'; three guards were unconscious and he had two guards wrapped in his chains struggling to crawl away. He whipped the two chains which made the two groan and he swung his arms across one another and the chains went likewise. The two guards were ripped from the ground and before they went to the opposite side he lodged his elbows into their stomach. Their expressions were priceless, tongues sticking out, their eyes wide, and their limbs going extending farther than their bodies were. They fell to the floor, probably in so much pain they didn't care that he took their key cards. He turned and saw me and was surprised with his visor's digitized representation of eyes.

"What are you doing here?" He asked.

"Well you- the guy flying the- you know what never mind. We got a party to crash.

We got the door, it was large but wooden, shame it was decorated so wonderfully. Takeda used the heat vision mode on his visor, they went from light blue to a red but not a dark red.

"Two guards on the edges of the door," he relayed to me, "by the looks of it they're moving the people out."

"How long till they're all gone?"

"Maybe thirty seconds."

I grabbed a cylinder from my belt and placed it right in front of the doors. "This will hurry it up by twenty-seven."

"What's that by any chance?"

"This is a bomb," I answered picking up the samurai and chucking him over the side of the stairwell.

We got in position as I pulled out the remote detonator out of my pocket. The small hand-gripped shape was caressed by my fingers with my thumb flipping a small red cap. Underneath the cap was a red button; in white paint drizzled on for effect were the words 'the fun button'. _Hah indeed_ , were the only words going through my head when I pushed 'the fun button'. With a loud bang the bomb did its one and only job, the great magic trick as I like to call it. The doors were gone, nothing but splinters and scorch marks were left from whence they stood. I don't even know what happened to the two guards, the party attendees were on the floor in fear as some scuffled out. I walked into the hall past the smoke with my arms crossed behind my back and a little hunched over. They were scared, desperate, it was almost amusing but they weren't my target; only those who stand in my way get the verdict.

"Can any of you tell me where I can find is?" I asked the crowd switching my voice to the garbled tone of my disguiser.

They stood silent, in fear naturally, until Takeda came up beside me, "Now, now we wouldn't want any of you to have the dear misfortune of dealing with my samurai friend here while I go take my sweet time finding Mr. Sherwood now do we?"

They all pointed to a hallway that was well lit with ornate lights shaped like parts of a chandelier, red carpet that differed from the tile floor that was the main room of the house.

"Thank you, your compliance has spared you….for today."

We both walked down the hallway, multiple guards stepped from the corners with pistols up and shot wildly at the two of us. Almost reflexively Takeda pulled out his two chains and swung them in a circle at unbelievable speed somehow blocking all the shots. He lunged a chain at the guard at the far right that wrapped around his leg and pulled him down. Takeda whipped his arm to the left and the chain responded by doing the same sweeping the other pistol carrying guards. I sprinted down the hall running and bouncing off to gain momentum as a new guard carrying a blade appeared. When I got close Reason 2 sparked to life slicing the blade in two and guard got singed as I punched him into the wall. We ripped through the guards like a poorly made shirt and made it to a large, and thick metal door.

"Well what now?" Takeda asked beating his chain wrapped arm on the door.

"Helloooo," I replied letting Reason 2 ignite once more, "there's a reason I'm called The Welder."

Placing my arm near the door Reason 2 began to cut a large blob that could be considered a human being. Once I had finished I pushed up against the door to see if it would budge, it wouldn't so I ran my fingers over it.

"Great job there all powerful Welder," Takeda sarcastically noted.

I removed my fingers from the door and took a step back and did a full 'sparta' kick to the door. It fell flat down with a loud *clang* and then I looked at Takeda. "You were saying," I retorted to the samurai who gave me that look from earlier. We walked inside and found Mr. Sherwood in a bed with gold satin sheets. He was scared, like most people who see me and I was with a legitimate samurai this guy must be setting off the richter scale. He was old with white hair in a spire mess and a white mustache that was bushy.

"We-well what do you want?" He asked us.

"I'll let my friend do the talking," I said moving to the side of the room.

"Thanks Welder, he said almost in a 'bite me' tone and then he preceded to tell Mr sherwood of his predicament. After a long talk Mr. Sherwood pulled out a file full of papers that if it got in the right hands it could bring down his whole life, what a shame. "Well then Mr. Sherwood thank you for your time, I'm sure the courts will give you some leniency for handing over the papers."

"You're not going to kill me?" He questioned, almost relieved.

"Nope, that was not my mission, only to get the information. Come on Welder let's go."

"You go on ahead, I'll cover our escape and don't wait for me, just go."

"Are you sure it doesn't seem necessary?"

"Just go I'll meet you back at the warehouse."

He left breaking a window in the process, the jerk those were nice windows. But now that I have my target in private I can fulfill my duty. "Now you get to listen to me."

"What is it do you want? Money? Land? My company?"

"Oh no it's none of that, trust that stuff isn't interesting to me. I have been asked to kill you for the crimes you have committed."

"But the other one said I could live."

"I know and it pains me to go back on my word to someone who I admire, but orders are orders…"

I grabbed mister by the collar and smacked his head against the side rail of his bed. He went out cold, not dead….yet. I placed a canister in the room and scorched the side of the wall with my name, it's my calling card, then I slowly welded the metal slab back on the door. I took a deep inhale and turned invisible, then I punched 'the fun button'. I returned to the car on the ledge as it began to pour, a thunderstorm was going to arrive. When I was leaving the red a blue lights of sirens illuminated the sky, I chuckled as once again they were too late. I returned to the closed doors of the warehouse, _just as I left you_. I went to go open the doors when a branch snapped and a familiar voice came back.

"You ! #$%^&!" Takeda's voice yelled.

As I turned to see where the voice came from I got punched at a great velocity sending me sprawling. As I sat up and looked up at Takeda I began to chuckle uncontrollably.

"What do you find funny here? We had deal!" He exclaimed.

"You think my word means anything, I'm a murder by nature. So when you heard that I was hunting Mr. Sherwood do you think I wouldn't kill him."

"You know what I was wrong. Wrong to think that in this business there might still be people who have enough decency to honor another's agreement."

His chains fell to the mix of dirt and water with the rain bouncing off the links. _So that's how we're going to play_ , I thought to myself. He lashed one chain over his shoulder which broke the pre-desecrated wall beside me. Out of pure speed I flicked a cylinder bomb out past the face of Takeda, who saw what they can do, leaped back into the forest. This gave me enough time to get back to my feet and spark both my torches to life. In the dark and stormy night they shone like a beacon, or a target if you want. Out from the trees Takeda jumped over my head bringing his chains down. Taking a small hop back I avoided the samurai. He began to spin the chains like fan blades flourishing them in practiced positions. One chain smacked my jaw which caught me off guard and really hurt, probably the first time in a while something has hurt. He smacked me with the other chain and I began to get pissed. After typing in a key command the torches began to spin faster. Finding the opportune moment I threw a fist into the flourishing chains so my hand went cleanly through it. The samurai side stepped and the tree behind him was cut instantly, that is the level of temperature were talking about. Takeda stopped spinning his chains, which wrapped back into place perfectly may I mind you and charged me. Because of the mushy footing he was able to put me on my back as he was on top.

"You gives you the right!? To kill somebody! The right to make that kind of decision!" He yelled with each sentence ending with a punch.

With the last punch I heard the clinking of glass and the feeling of shards touch the skin of my face. At that point the next punch I grabbed and pulled away only to punch Takeda in the face hitting his mempo. We both straightened up and stood apart from each other. A lightning bolt struck the ground that may have been off in the distance but from the side it was perfectly in the middle of us. He was beginning to bleed where I hit his when the lightning flashed the sides of our faces, he could probably see the color of my eye as well. We both looked at each other, dead in the eyes, we charged at one another. Our hands met as we were put in, as I like to call it, the 'Arm Lock of Destiny'. We stood where the only motion was our arms going back in forth. In all my years in being The Welder I don't believe I have met somebody who could go toe to toe with me and I loved every bit of it, even to the point where I started t chuckle again.

"What's so funny?" Takeda asked.

"Oh, nothing," I replied, "I just love this. Two different ideals finally fighting it out the way it was always meant to. It's almost poetic."

"Sure. It's 'poetic'. You kill people for a living; I bring them to justice!"

"As do I."

"How!? You kill them before they are given a chance at a fair trial!"

"And where was my fair trial when I was killed years ago!?"

"What are you talking about!? You're still alive right now you crazy ! #$%^&!"

"When I died years ago no one knew, no one cared, even the man who said he cared for all of us left us to die! So tell me 'oh honorable one' where is the fairness in that!?"

"I don't know who let you die, but exacting revenge won't solve anything!"

"Oh but are you sure? While I kill more and more don't you think that maybe I do them a service when cretins like Mr. Sherwood had court judges in their pockets. I do them a favor when I am an unbiased executioner."

"You're completely insane!" No wonder you have died once before because you went crazy! You probably killed the other people you were talking about!"

At this moment my anger had reached its tipping point. "You think I killed them? The only people who cared about me! The only ones who enjoyed my company! The only person who I ever loved!" As I went on I began to push Takeda down, his eyes began to fear like Mr. Sherwood's. "You cannot comprehend the things I saw before I became this….this WRETCH!" As I pushed him down I swept his legs and he fell. I got on top of him and started to punch him like he did to me only I didn't care. He may have been someone I admired once but he crossed the line that no one shall cross. I raised my arm and Reason A flared with a blue flame, Takeda raised his hand, it was weak and he barely breathed out a 'please'. "What? Don't want to die a warrior's death? I taunted as I began to bring down the killing blow. But before I killed the samurai, just before the torch touched him I stopped, more like froze. It was one of those moments where the whole world stood still, even if it was just for a second. A voice came into my head. I stopped the torch and helped Takeda back up and we walked inside the warehouse.

I patched up his wound and fixed my goggles, then I sat on a stool and stared at a work table. I dropped Takeda off in a small town a few days laters after clearing up the whole debacle. We decided to stay in contact in case we needed help, I told him to wait a while before he does because I had some stuff to sort out.

"Before you killed me you stopped. Why?" Takeda asked.

"Something came back to me, something I thought was long gone. Trust me I'll need you for it when the time comes."

"Okay, if you ever need help in the meantime, you know what to do," he finished closing the car door.

"No problem." I said in the privacy of the quiet car, "The anniversary is coming….it's coming…."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Cults and Crazies Pt 1

 _Well how does it feel? The feeling of failure? Does it taste rotten? Sour? Is there an aftertaste of remorse? A taste of defeat mixed in as well perhaps? Those are all the things I had to deal with for years only mine were worse. Caused by an old man who's time was running out on him. They were the…the…I can't even say their names without me going on a rampage. You twisted our thoughts, used us for your own personal gain, you left us to die. And if you want to point out I'm wrong then good, I want revenge, you took the only thing that mattered to me, and I will see your crippled lifeless body lodged in a wall right before I let your corpse be blown to bits. That day is coming deceiver so mark your damn calendar. Sincerely the deceived, enraged, and vengeful, The Welder._

It was late at night but the lights of The Leaky Pipe illuminated the room with an unnatural yellow tinge. My eyes were closed, not that anybody could tell I mind you, just listening to all the deals being made, the young hunters who were being swindled by experienced dealers, and the opposite with experienced hunters cheating inexperienced people who had no idea with what they were doing. I had no interest in the shady side of deals, maybe that's why I survived so long, our life expectancy is quite short. I by no means the oldest when it comes to bounty hunting, but I am one of the oldest in Vale, Mistral is full guys with years of experience. Once in awhile we might see a huntsmen come in looking for work straying from their all righteous path to do a little dirty work. From what I've found and watched from the huntsmen who come in for a job one day is that they never go back to being a huntsmen, almost like a drug. The sound of footsteps came close to my table with the sound of an "ahem" opening my eyes to a sight of a bright pink cumberbund, bowtie, white tux shirt, and black slacks.

"Well, well, well if it isn't The Welder," he said like a smug asshole.

"Well if it isn't the flamengo reject that even the faunas didn't want to claim. What do you want pinkie?"

"How dare you, this is not pink you fool! It is a lightish red, only somebody with no sense of fashion would call this pink!" 'Pinkie' said.

I honestly don't know this guy's name, he thinks he's my big time rival when really I couldn't give a rat's furry ass. I stood up slowly and I looked in the face of the man as I cracked my knuckles giving a slight chuckle. I stepped behind my chair and I was about to punch his incredibly punchable face until I saw an elderly lady come from behind Pinkie. She cleared her throat to get his attention and he turned around.

"Get lost you old hag," he snarked, "we're in the middle of something."

So I have been fighting for years, I've seen a single Geist grimm take the form of an entire mountain, an entire facility cleared by a single faunus, and I've had first hand experience in killing huntsmen. I don't think I saw the woman move but Pinkie was flung across the other side of the bar and landed on a table breaking glass mugs and spilling a multitude of alcoholic beverages. The woman of oriental descent and tiny. Her face was sagged with a stern angry frown, the eyes were covered with purple tinted glasses. Her black hair was in a bun kept together by two sticks all with her purple coat with white fur lining the outside.

"Are you looking for something in particular ma'am?" I asked sitting back down.

"I am looking for you Welder," she said plainly, "I need you to rescue my daughter."

I gave a small chuckle propping my feet on the table. "You must have me confused with someone else. I'm a contract killer, a hitman, a hired gun."

"No," was all she said until reaching into her large handbag, "no I don't.

As she her hand began to lift I reached and grabbed her hand out of habit, occupational hazard was what I told her. "I guess I didn't think of that," she muttered quietly. Out of her purse came a large yellow envelope, and by the sounds of it hitting the table, it looked full. She didn't say anything else and just walked out the door. By no means is that normal for me usually most clients stay and decide they need to lay there whole life story and explain how the target ruined their life. Don't get me wrong I found it nice not having to listen to a sob story but a little more insight would have been nice, I found the ambiguity rather cryptic. I left shortly after with the file in my hand and socking Pinkie squarely in the jaw on my way out. The file sat in the passenger seat while I drove back to the warehouse that I called home. The file was tossed onto the worktable as I grabbed a cup of water. While I was filling the glass I caught a glance of something written on the other side of the envelope. I walked over to get a better look. The text was big and bold, how could've I missed that, a single word: Faith. Nearly right after I read the word blazen across my mind began to violently pound. The glass in my hand dropped and shattered into pieces, I ripped my hat, goggles, and scarf off as I had trouble breathing. My hands were trembling and sweat dripped down my face and my breathing grew heavy. Once I had recollected myself I decided to hit the hay and see if this would pass. It did not…

Usually dreams are non existent for me but I had a dream, an awful one at that too. I found myself in a large field of long dead dead waving in the wind. The sight seemed familiar but it didn't scream anything that jolted any memories. A village in the background appeared, charred and withered, I heard yelling and gunfire. The memory made itself known, yet I didn't want to move, I have seen it too many times and my chest began to hurt as I knew what was coming. I closed my eye expecting what usually comes but nothing happened. I opened them only to hear the screaming and the gunfire morph into a singular voice.

"Wells!" The voice shrieked.

The voice pierced my mind like a knife causing more pain than any man should endure. I begun to run towards yelling "No, no, no! Not again!" Then as it got silent I heard one final gunshot and I fell to my knees punching the dirt holding back tears. A voice, different from the previous, spoke from behind me, "What a worthless use of a human," followed by maniacal laughter. I felt a sharp pain in my saide and when I looked down I saw an axe blade lodged in my side spilling blood on the ground I wept on.

"Show your face," I demanded clutching my bloodied side and turning around.

When I turned around and saw nothing except for an abyss of darkness. I noticed that my side was no longer bloodied and it didn't hurt for as much as a dream's interpretation of pain. However, the laughter continued seemingly coming from all angles and it hurt my head. Grasping my face I shouted a final desperate plea: "What do you want!?".

From behind me I felt the axe strike my other side only it was much bigger, like a weapon used by a behemoth, and I was lifted still with the blade piercing my side. I couldn't be bothered by the lifting since I was in excruciating pain. I finally looked up when the sudden jerk of the axe stopping its momentum. It was a giant human the size of a skyscraper and with a face shrouded by shadows.

"What I want," it started before showing his face, "is my life back!" His face was the one thing that horrified me, which was odd because it was mine. The same scarf, the identical hat and goggles it was all me even the same voice. In a fit of rage the illusion grabbed me and began to squeeze before lunging his fist into the ground. Before I plummeted to the ground I jumped out in a cold sweat breathing heavily. I stared at the file from where I rested and gave an exasperated sigh. I threw the trench coat on and assembled the rest of my attire then I sat at the worktable. Carefully opening the envelope I found it was filled with pictures, police reports, security tapes, the whole nine yards plus a little more. The girl, named Faith I presumed, was your typical run-of-the-mill college age girl from Mistral. She enjoyed painting, playing the piano, and of all things tournament matches between huntsmen. At some point she got affiliated with the wrong people and the wrong crowd, a story all too familiar in this kind of scenario. To make a long and convoluted story short she ended up a member in a cult located here in Vale. The cult had been in the news lately for trying to forcefully indoctrinate, or brainwashing for those who have a broader vocabulary than a TV anchor. The night soon turned to morning as the warehouse was blazoned with photos, strings, and scribbled words that were almost incomprehensible. Sitting in the middle of it wall was me, leaning back in a chair with my feet propped up on the table, trying to make basic sense of where this girl could be. The mountains seemed like the only place they could be; it had natural barriers from the Grimm, it would prove to be difficult for a large scale military to barging in. The only thing that could infiltrate would be something like a huntsmen, or a bounty hunter.

 _Well then it looks like I'm going on hiking trip._

I packed enough fuel canisters in the fuel pack and loaded my belt with augmented grenades with my handy-dandy remote detonator and made my way to the mountains. The terrain proved to unstable for the car so I had to walk my way there so it would be a long day. Luckily I wasn't too far from the range, about two days worth of walking. Since I left at what was two in the morning I would get to rest for tonight, a much needed rest after what happened the previous night. The thought of what I saw in the dream perplexed me and horrified me all at the same time. That axe seemed all too familiar but it didn't ring any bells as of right now. Ever since I met that faunus girl from the village many things have been happening to me. It jarred something loose that hasn't been touched in a long time. It was the dark of night when I sat down as the sky was filled with clouds making it impossible to see. I know before the sun went down the mountain was prominent in the landscape beyond the plains. I pitched a small fire, a relatively simple task with my weapons, and leaned myself up against a tree. The light of the fire was dimmed by my blue tinted goggles and all my mind could focus on was the nightmare. I was almost scared to go back to sleep and deal with that horror. For the first time in many years I, The Welder, was in fear. It was kind of pathetic, a killer with no remorse shaken by the memories he once paid no regard to, the one thing I realised about myself is that I'm getting more melodramatic. I fell asleep just as the fire began to dwindle into charred remains. Half asleep the sounds of something bustling through the woods. When you travel alone you must be on a hair trigger for anything, even if it's your friend coming back. However I didn't have a friend with me which made me think I should have gotten Takeda over here, he's a good tracker and his helmet's night vision would have let us walk in the night. Growling soon ensued, a growling I was far too acquainted with.

 _Grimm. And Ursas by the sound of it._

A black blob lunged with several other scurrying around my little makeshift camp. By second nature Reason 2 and A flared to life giving light to the once darkened night. I could see the grimm's red eyes and skull like face trying to bite towards me. With a simple backhand led by Reason 2 singed the side of its face sending it sprawling towards the ground. Two more Ursas ensued both swiping like children having a slapping contest. I grabbed one of the black fur coated arms and swung it to the side catching it off guard. The other Ursa was stopped by a sucker punch into the sternum where I continued the punch till Reason A began to cut through the chest of the furry beast. It wasn't like butter but more like a chewy steak where you had to go back over it multiple times. Meanwhile the monstrous bear was trying to reach me as I held one of his arms and used it as a shield. Eventually it stopped altogether and the amr I was holding went limp. I did a roundhouse kick and the top half of the bear slid off before dissolving like most grimm do. Going back to the Ursa that I threw back I grabbed the top of its head and made it swallow one of the grenades like a pill and kicked that sorry ass back into the woods. I pulled out the remote and let the fireworks illuminate the night sending the once peaceful forest into chaos with birds chirping as they flew away. A fourth bear leaped from behind and roared, 'cause of course they do, and charged like many idiotic grim. Ducking below the massive lunge it threw I swept the legs and let it fall to the ground with a meaty 'thud'. I stood on top of the creature and swung Reason A like an axe head smashing the bone-like structure into pieces. An Ursa Major came thundering through. White spikes shot out of its back like a demonic sea urchin. In a fit of rage it roared and ran towards me on all fours. Doing a quick and simple turn it got to the side of me and I brought the fiery saw Reason 2 down on its arm. I only appeared to make it more enraged as it let out a louder,more ferocious, roar that could topple a tree if it were close enough. It got on two legs and swiped its claws like mad daggers. It continued to do this till we were in arms lengths of each other. We got into an arm lock struggling to move either of us. The dirt grew more compact s our respective feet were digging into it. I tried to angle my arms so the torches would begin to burn away at the Ursa's arms. Instead the burning threw the beast in a fit of rage so might it was able to pick me up, swing me like a ragdoll, and chuck me into a nearby tree. The tree behind me nearly toppled with the force the Ursa threw me. Getting back up I stopped Reason A from spinning and grabbed a second grenade from my belt putting it in that hand. Staring at the Ursa you could see traces of smoke in the darkness now even more dim with Reason A being turned off. We both charged one another at the same time, seeming to want this fight to end. Jumping above his head I grabbed the bone-like snout by its teeth and shoved the grenade while riding him like a bull. It took a bit more concentration since the thing was mobile. When I knew it had swallowed its new prescription it finally decided to buck me off. I did a flip back onto the ground and ran behind a tree and pushed the 'Fun Button'. Spikes, limbs, and fur went everywhere littering the ground like trash, only more disgusting. I got out from behind the tree and saw no more Ursas left and with that I sat and took a long sigh. It was still dark so I could get some winks of sleep in which came a lot easier now that I had fought a small pack of demon bears. The mountain was all I could think about and lied ahead of me, but that would just have to wait till the morning…


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Cults and Crazies Pt 2

 _Why don't you listen to me? Here I am standing as a second point of view and you brush me aside like I'm nothing. I usually try to stay out of the public spotlight, contrary to popular belief. Is it because I kill for a living? I don't see it as much different as what you do. We both stand to gain from someone needing another thing removed. I guess you can other things like protection but that is so boring having to defend people who can't pick up a two-by-four and whack a fool for god's sake. But back to my point I can't fathom why you ignore me. Multiple times I have said truthful ideals, nothing like that 'The strong survive and the weak die' bullshit, just ideas like if you wanted a good way to keep the peace is to admit that peace is an illogical fallacy. More of that later. Sincerely the loudest, quietest man, The Welder._

The mountain stood in the cloudy morning, dew still dripped off the leaves of the trees creating the illusion it was raining. There was no other sound to accompany the 'drip', 'drip', 'drip', just the silence of the forest with its judging eyes. The forest from where the Ursas attacked me were now behind me. Although it couldn't speak you could tell it had many stories to tell whether they were tragic or heroic. Where my story would be placed in the world would have to be answered when I am gone but for now my story must continue.

The name of the girl I had to rescue still bugged me. It was the second time in a short period of time where the name Faith came into contact with me. The faunus girl from the village and now this supposed prisoner. Was it 'fate' playing tricks on me or was it a coincidence that I was overthinking in my complicated head. Don't know but I intend to find out.

The trail, or what was to be assumed a trail, was mostly a steep incline with loose gravel leading the way. By the looks of it no one had used it in some time. There was little to no vegetation on this god forsaken rock just the grey and brown rubble, the sound of crunching being the only accompaniment. I did find it rather peaceful compared to what would be happening once I reached the reclusive cult. From what I was reading before I left I figured out they were called, once second I got to do this in a dramatic voice, 'The New Kings of Remnant'. Rather long title if I do say so. This cult which has been in the news sporadically, for the past few years, for doing things such as poisoning local officials, kidnapping, borderline torturing, and first degree llama-cide (don't ask me it was what I found when I hacked into the police database). For years they were ignored, till the first two offenses started popping up obviously nobody cares about llamas, then they were ran out of the towns in true mob fashion complete with torches and pitchforks. It must have been a candle in the wind scenario because I hadn't heard too much about them besides small new stories and the snippets on the newspaper.

The sun was at high noon when I stopped to view the landscape behind me. A tall blanket of dark green hovered above the ground on brown crutches. I sighed and sat on a boulder on the ground. _Why am I even doing this?_ I asked myself spinning a piece of grass between my fingers, _This is not what I do. I kill, I ruin lives for a living. So why is it that I took this job. A job where I have to rescue someone. This would be better for suited for Takeda if anything._ That last thought made me remember the samurai crazy enough to trust me. I hadn't seen Takeda after our little 'altercation' but we still kept in radio contact when we weren't on mission. He told me that he was one of the best, if not the best (his words) tracker and hunter around. We both had our issues on how we both conduct our lifestyle and type of job. He chooses to be a paid vigilante and tries to kill if at possible, which he minimizes very well. However me on the other hand prefer to kill anyone who stands in front of me, I will admit I don't enjoy causing collateral, and go in weapons hot (no pun intended). The mountain path that laid ahead of me didn't look so different from the beginning. Grey, rocky, little green, and more rocky were the only defining features. I adjusted my goggles and cracked my knuckles and twitched my fingers giving the torches a bit of a spin keeping everything lubricated. I began to walk as the lumbering traveler alone on the dusty hill. I noticed though an odd feeling, a feeling I have felt before and knew all too well, I was being watched. I stopped in my tracks looking side to side and turned on my disguiser lodged in my scarf.

"If you're going to attack me," my augmented voice rang out, "I suggest you do it now while I don't know where you are."

Although there was no cover to hide from two people, one faunus and one human, came from behind me running creating the crunching sound the silence desperately begged for. Since they willingly gave their position I reared one of my arms back and gave a wicked backhand to one of the cultist who went flying towards the gravel. The other pulled out a knife and held it like they were going to stab me in the back, the nerve of that guy. Grabbing the top of his wrist I lifted him to eye level, he was short and I'm quite tall, and swung him around overhead. After the fourth time of swinging him like a ragdoll I did a final turn, panted my foot down and tossed him like a hammer used in track and field. The cultist who took the back hand got back up and picked what looked like a ram horn and blew into it making an awful sound. From the top of the mountain came a creaking sound with the footsteps of multiple people marching down. They all had swords, spears, and guns, and they were lots of them. Easily seventy to eighty of these crazy cultist, and I mean crazy. They were all dressed in red hooded robes with gold sides with buttons to match. Now usually I would have a good time killing a bunch of lunatics but seeing as how I needed to get out with another human being I thought it would be a good idea not to tire myself out. I raised my arms in the classic 'I surrender' position and felt a heavy blow to the back of my skull; everything went black from there.

A large pounding pain in the back of my head woke me up as I was being dragged deeper into a cave hidden in the mountain. I looked to my sides and saw the red hooded cultist around me, dragging me by my arms. They put a quite advanced handcuff that wrapped around my torches, they were apparently smart cultist. The blow to my head still left me disoriented so I wasn't sure if they lit the halls with torches or fiery bunny rabbits, it was difficult to tell. They were saying something as well but it was muffled and fuzzy like my vision at the time. We got to a large opening and my vision cleared. For a bunch of what were basically mole people they did a decent job. Plenty of caverns made it possible for many people to shack up. It was defensible from bad weather and I assume the Grimm. In the middle of the society who were now glaring at me was a throne room or sanctuary, or possibly both. A rather young man was sitting on an ornate throne in a king-like robe with two scantily clad women sitting at the steps. The group of now ten people forced me into the room and pushed me down till I was on my knees.

"Watch it bathrobe," I shot back as they shoved me down.

After my comment I felt a knee shoot into my rib and if you could see inside my goggles you could see on of my eyes wince in pain. The, what I supposed, king raised his hand catching the cultist off guard and he suddenly took a step back then stood at attention. The monarch scanned at what abomination was before him, his head bobbing up and down. He then sat in a more regal looking position with those judging eyes.

"Well," his deep voice asked, "who do we have here?"

From the group of cultist one, probably the leader, replied. "We found him outside the walls my lord," her voice answered.

"Oh did we now?" The monarch question placing his elbow on his knee and resting his head in his hand. "Can you tell me," he paused for a moment thinking about how he wanted to phrase this, "just what you were doing."

I looked up and waited a good long while letting the silence get to everybody. "I have been sent," I said letting my scrambled voice fill the air, "to rescue a girl named Faith."

The king began to laugh, and I mean hysterically, and slap one of the armrest of the chair. "Y-You came all the way here," he said in between wiping away tears from laughing too hard, "to 'rescue' (complete with air quotes) somebody who willingly came here."

 _Well that would have a nice factoid to know,_ I thought to myself looking at the ground and sighed. "My good sir, I have orders and a financial interest to retrieve the girl. So if you please, release me, let me get the girl, and I'll be on my way."

The man atop the throne stopped laughing and gave a stern look now. "What you don't realize is that you are part of the machine. You say you have a 'financial interest', you know what that means to me? You don't care about the things you do. You don't realize that this world has a death grip on us. You're only helping the machine keep us in this never ending way of life. Well I say no more! We can no longer be ruled by men who say they want what's best for the people but look idly by as the citizens suffer. We 'The New Gods' will deliver the people of Remnant into a new age! One of prosperity, no more suffering, made in our image, the perfect image!"

The man was now standing up with his arms and head raised to the cave ceiling with his followers clapping and hollering in approval. When everything had gotten quiet the people around me heard maniacal laughter mixed with the distortion that comes with my voice. "You fools!" I yelled in between laughing, "you think you can do anything? You're stuck in a damn cave you dumbasses! How can you possibly think you can do anything from here?!"

The group around me grew more hostile and the king sat back in his chair, unamused unlike myself. He pointed at me and ordered, "Take him away to the dungeon, we will execute him at the ceremony tomorrow morning!"

The two burly guards grunted as they lifted me by my armpits and took me on a grand tour, as grand as one could be when taken to a prison. The society seemed to have access to water, but from where I couldn't tell. They had a market and for an underground people there were quite of few of them. The guards approached a hallway secluded from the rest of the people. At the least it was a prison; bars, a guard or two and a prisoner, not it was a singular prisoner. The two through me to the back rocky and quickly slammed the bars shut before I could run out.

"What no goodbye kiss for me?" I sarcastically asked the two slabs of muscle.

They both sneered and left leaving me only the guards and the other prisoner on the other side of the prison who I had no interest in talking to at the moment. The idea of one of these cultist having a lovely conversation sounded like an impossibility and the idea of me converting to a religion was laughable at the he wanted to talk to me.

"Why hello there?" He cheerfully said.

I turned to face where the voice came from, quite chipper for a prisoner but with a twinge of age and experience, and saw the man. He looked about low twenties, probably twenty one if I to guess. He wore a black tank top with jeans that had scorch marks on the knees and at the bottoms. Along with that he had fingerless gloves. His face was a little on the long side with relaxed brown eyes. His hair was a bright orange spiked on sides with a scraggly beard the same color as the rest of his hair. The prisoner was leaning arms first on the bars chewing what looked like gum seemingly waiting for my response. I stayed silent and grunted scoffed ambiguously and turned to survey my surroundings.

"What I don't get a 'how do ya do?" The fiery individual joked followed by a small chuckle.

I still tried not giving him any attention and looked down on the cuffs that covered my entire wrist so my torches couldn't move or cut through the bars (they're smarter than I expected). The prisoner, who was beginning to get on my nerves, decided to continue his solo conversation.

"Well since you're a charmer I'll star," he noted, "the name's Vulcan, Matthew Vulcan. Let's see I've sober four-no wait three years now. I'm a huntsman-in-training at Beacon and is there anything else that's interesting about me? No not really, eh, guess my life is boring. So how 'bout you?"

When 'Vulcan' (and I thought I had a odd name) said he had gone to Beacon I sort of stopped where I was mentally and physically. I turned looking at him dead in the eyes and even though he couldn't see my eyes he knew that I was staring at him. I walked up to the bars of my cell putting my cuffed arms up to the bars with a loud 'clang' sound immediately following. "You said you got to Beacon. Is that correct?"

"Yeah. why do you have a problem with me wanting to help others?" Vulcan replied.

"No not in particular, but if you wanted to help others then why didn't you become a doctor, or a policeman, or a firefighter. You know something benefits everybody."

"I don't know if I like what you're insinuating."

"Then let me tell you it bluntly. Huntsmen ruin just as many lives as I do. When you're sent to go get somebody and do justice you run the possibility of creating a ripple to somebody on the other side. Maybe right now you take away some father who did a lot of bad things but to some kid that's still his father. And the opinion of huntsmen in his eyes goes down hill real fast and soon you create a new problem for the future. At least when I kill I am told to kill, it is rarely by my own volition."

Vulcan just looked at me almost disappointed in me. He sighed and shook his head. "You don't really understand huntsmen do you? We are protect and make sure the world becomes a better world. We are there to insure peace."

"Then where the huntsmen in my greatest time of need. Where everything I had was wiped out in an instant! I was lied to about huntsmen and your so called righteous cause so I decided to something about it! I took it upon myself to do the things that your little order could never do. I took it upon myself to be the unbiased judge, jury, and executioner! I have no loyalties except to remove anybody put in front of me. One day I may kill for the White Fang the next I kill the same White Fang official who hired me previously! And as of right now I have been ordered to retrieve that little girl right there keeping guard and listening to this very conversation." I ranted and at the end I motioned to the guard who had been there the whole time.

It took me awhile but I recognized the girl, Faith, from the picture in the envelope given to me by the mother. She looked like her mother but much younger and with black streaks in her purple hair. Mr. Vulcan looked at the girl, then to me, and back to the girl who was nervous. "When you say retrieve?" He questioned.

"Her mother wants me to return her daughter **alive**."

"Ok just had to make sure. But you know what?"

"*Groan* What?!"

"You're right about huntsmen, but you're wrong as well. Yeah we may cause these 'ripples' that lead to future problems. But that's not a huntsmen issue, that's a human issue. We try to protect in the present. If we could prevent what was going to happen in the future then we would but we can't! And I'm sorry that the huntsmen failed you, but becoming this emotionless murderer won't change anything you only add fuel to the fire!"

I stayed silent for awhile and smirked behind my scarf. "You say you're going to be a huntsmen?"

"Yeah," he said in a more defensive tone.

"Then maybe there's still hope. Of all the times I've ranted to people about huntsmen they either give some weak argument, agree with me, or try to weasel out of it. But you actually have a passion for these glorified police."

"Thanksss? He said in a confused.

"Now, Faith don't think I've forgotten about you little one," I suddenly shifted catching the guard woman by surprise. "You're mother is worried about you."

She didn't say anything all she did was look down at the ground. After a short period of time she spoke. "She doesn't care about me."

"Well I have a large envelope that says otherwise."

"Yeah how about her always never treating me like the human being I am!" She yelled and the hood covering her face fell off. Her face had pure rage pouring throughout every surfaces.

I gave an exasperated sigh and looked to the ground then looked back at her. "You kids don't seem to understand how life works. How old are you girl?"

"I'm twenty-two."

"Twenty-two, you got your whole life in front of you and you wonder why she still treats you as a child. One, that is what mothers do if I'm not mistaken. Second, the world is a cold harsh place that really doesn't care for you. To them you're a person that can be ripped off, taken advantaged of, and made a laughing stock."

"And that's why I came to The New Gods. They care about me, they care about what I think I'm not a cog in the machine."

"You didn't let me finish." I told her, "Yes the world is generally an evil place but the good outweighs most of the bad. You're only twenty two, while I may not be the best example I as doing this at that age. Vulcan what about you? What were you doing at twenty two?"

He hesitated for a moment then said, "I was in prison, like a real prison."

I stopped for moment and looked at him while I motioned a _really you just had to tell to the truth now didn't you._ "Well fine don't use us but many people are doing fantastic things."

So believe it or not pep talks are not my strong suit and it didn't change things. She only looked at me and said: "you don't understand you're just like the others."

Well if wants to hear the truth then fine she'll get it. "Fine then let me tell you this: I honestly could break out of these shackles and kill everybody who stands in my way. But since I just cleaned my trenchcoat I really don't want to. So you can either release me or I create a rather messy scene."

Vulcan's head suddenly shot back at me. "Hey you're trying to get on her good side and I don't think scaring her is going to help."

"Not my fault she's acting like a bitch."

"Hey! Not helping!"

"No, no, no if she wants to be treated like an adult then so be it. Here's what I think about what you did: you're an idiot. That man atop that throne is fooling you. He wants to rule like a king something the Great War tried to end. So if you want to go backwards where, guess what, you're still treated like a piece of crap then go ahead! If that does happen then congratulations you will succeed on me mending my fences with the huntsmen because I would fight alongside them to stop you. You realize the lives he would have to end to become king would be numerous. The issue with wanting a revolution is that it leads to war most of the time. And with wars nobody know what it leads to. You don't know the family who receives the first letter that all military families dread. The number of children whose lives are forever scarred. The lives distorted for eternity. So if you want all that bloodshed then so be it, but just know that there is a mother who cried as she gave me an envelope filled your whole life, a mother trusted me. The Welder! A murder! A hitman! Someone who makes a living of ending lives! A man whose hatred knows no bounds!"

After I had gotten done I turned to the wall behind me in frustration, I get rather heated when I rant, but I could tell the atmosphere had shifted. From anger it turned to sorrow and the small sounds of weeping came from behind me. Vulcan eyes were full of sorrow and Faith was crying in the corner, her head buried in her hands. I looked down the ends of the halls trying not to look at the two directly.

"Damn," Vulcan muttered looking at the weeping girl, "you really know how to kill a person's spirit don't you."

"She needed to hear it. Sometimes a broken spirit is what you need to put yourself back together."

"Do we speak from experience?" He asked.

"I would rather not talk about it boy."

He was going to reply but Faith ran out the room in tears distracting both of us. Vulcan then spoke, "Do you think it worked?" He understood what I did.

"We won't know until later."

"What do you mean later?"

-The next morning-

Two guards came in the hallway with swords in sheaths and armor marching in rhythm together. They turned to Vulcan and opened the door and grabbed him by his tank top. "Let's go." One of them said. They turned to where I was but squinted and then widened his eyes. "Hey!" he yelled then turned to Vulcan, "wasn't there another one here!"

"How the hell should I know? He was gone when I woke up this morning."

The three people left the hallway with one of the guards looking back at me in my cell, only he couldn't see me because I was invisible. _Man what would I do without this,_ I thought, uncloaking when the coast was clear. The shackles were still a bit of a nuisance and even though I did say I had a plan for those I was lying when I told Vulcan. Going to the rock wall I began to smash the metal shackles against the surface with all my might. They slowly began to crack apart until the once pristine metal cuffs shattered to pieces of varying sizes. _Cheap things,_ I thought cracking my fingers which was a relief. I let Reason A flare to life and began to cut through the lock on the door. Sparks were flying until a *clink* sound and the door popped off and I pushed the door open. I cracked the bones in my neck and popped my back which was a part of my daily routine but sleeping on a rock wall isn't the ideal bed. I was caught off guard by a sudden "Hey!"

The one guard who was skeptical before Vulcan was escorted out was standing between me and where I needed to be. I smirked behind my scarf and ran towards the brute. He threw a wild punch and ducking beneath it I jabbed at his ribs with my left and with my right I grabbed the side of his face. I then pushed his body into the wall and with the momentum he bounced off the wall and into the slamming of my fist into his jaw knocking him out.

Leaving him in a newly welded together cell I cloaked back and began to look for the armory. Vulcan told me his weapon was kept there when he got captured. The whole 'congregation' was at the ceremony that the king talked about earlier so luckily I didn't have to worry about anybody surprising me again. I tried rifling through swords, lances, guns nothing as fancy as to what a huntsmen might have. Then as if it yelled at me I found his weapon. It was a large metal pack that strapped to the back with two hilts, no weapon like a sword on it just the bare hilts. Whatever it was there was some type of liquid sloshing around and on the top it said "Warning Contents Hot" in faded red letters. I walked to where I heard singing, didn't think cults had hymns but hey it's been a weird forty eight hours. I approached what must have been the back entrance and de-cloaked, I could see the back of the throne chair and all the faces of the people. I could also see Vulcan on his knees in front of the masses facing towards them. The king was leading the song and cut it off when the final note reached its peak. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Faith who then, just possibly, may have saw me before I re-cloaked.

"Gathered friends!" The king announced, "We are the future rulers of Remnant!" This was followed by cheering from the crowd. "We here are the true sons of the gods who dictated that we will inherit the world! However people like this," he pointed to Vulcan, "are trying to deny us what is rightfully ours! Well no more!" He was now pointing a pistol at Vulcan, "Today we take back the world!"

He fired the gun and the shot rang in the ears of all the people. I had gotten used to sound of gunshots but being so close still cleaned out the old ear drums. The king looked at Vulcan who was breathing heavily but there was no blood, no wound. He looked at the pistol and fired again, and again, and again till I got tired of him firing the damn thing.

"Hey!" I yelled as I became visible. I was standing in front of him using Vulcan's metal pack as a shield. He told me it could take a vew hits so why not. I grabbed the arm the gun was in since even though he was on a step I still had about an inch or two on him. "If you mind I would like to keep my hearing!"

I kicked him in the chest and dropped Vulcan's mystery weapon the ground while I cut through his regular handcuffs.

"What took you so long?" He asked loosening his wrists and putting on his pack and placing his hilts into the side on what seemed like two ports.

"Sorry I had to take care of a meathead and find your godforsaken legend."

"Hey don't make fun of Lemnos," he retorted, "you don't see me making fun of your welding torches."

I didn't say anything all I did was look at the multiple guards holding their basic weapons in hand. I let both torches flare to life and Vulcan charged headfirst. He dodged a jab of a spear and clamped it down with his foot and he punched a cultist in the face. He ducked under a sword swipe and kicked the person as punishment. Vulcan wasn't that bad as a hand-to-hand fighter, not as good as me obviously (I'm a god when it comes to that stuff). Eventually there was enough people where he had to pull out a weapon. From his right he grabbed one of the hilts and the sound of something singeing and the smell of burning metal filled the immediate air. He pulled out a short sword and as he pulled it out further you could see it still cooling and the color went from a tinge of orange to dark grey. So it was an (for a lack of a better word) 'Insta-Forge' (I'm so sorry). It could basic weapons in virtually no time at all. From the hilt on the left he pulled out a hand axe and was deep into combat. He was parrying and striking like it was second nature, the clanging of weapons didn't phase him and he was fearless in each decision he made. I jumped into the foray slicing weapons and elbowing them in the face. The crowd of people who weren't fighting were either running away scared or hiding from the two of us. We had gotten through a large number of the cultist before we heard a second gunshot. The two of us jumped forward and looked to make sure neither of us had been shot. We saw the king with the pistol back in hand pointing upward still smoking. He was clearly frustrated by his heavy breathing and crazed eyes.

"Enough!" He shouted, "I will not have two outsiders be the end of us!"

"Man where did all that talk of taking back the world," Vulcan snarked, "you can't even take out two warriors."

"You think that we will be defeated, you are weak and naive. I will create a better world, one so that only we, the worthy can enjoy!" The kind voice had grown calmer and he pointed the gun right at my head and was about to fire.

"No!" A voice yelled from the crowd.

It was Faith she standing from behind a wall. "Please," she begged, "don't do this. This isn't how we should portray ourselves."

The ruler looked at her confused for many moments. "Do you realize what you are saying? You are saying you want these two outsiders to be spared for the crimes they have committed on the world and the crimes they did here! And if you are saying that then you are just as much a traitor as these two." He then pointed the gun at her.

"No I'm just saying maybe we should-" she said.

It was too late he fired the pistol. As if in slow motion I looked and saw the smoke, the flash, and Faith fall to the ground in reaction to the shot. She hadn't been trained to have an aura and her blood was spilled. Everything for me went silent the only thing I heard the sound of the bullet casing falling to the ground and Faith's body hitting the floor. At that moment a rage began to build inside me, a rage that would scare the devil into submission. I began to twitch my fingers in a certain combination in my gloves that unlocked a feature I had hoped I would never use. I began to repeat "Not again," over and over and over with each getting louder. As my hands trembled I stared at the murderous king with hatred in my eyes. When the finger combination was finished the orange red flame was replaced with a bluish white flame. I charged at the murderous king with incredible speed and dodged two shots and smacked the gun to side and placed Reason 2's blue flame on his shoulder. He screamed in pain and I retracted the torch only to then slam his pathetic, blood thirsty head into his own throne until it was a bloody pulp. I threw his body aside and looked towards the guards who were wide eyed. They didn't stand much of a fight. Their pathetic bodies littered the floor. I left the regular people to their cowering and picked up Faith as Vulcan just stared at me. He grabbed my arm as I began to lift Faith up.

"Where the hell are you going?" He asked.

I looked at Faith who was still breathing, but only slight. "Come on she can make it." I began to ran out of the cave society.

"Welder," he grabbing my shoulder, "are you sure this is what you want to do?"

"I am not losing her!" I yelled as I began to sprint out of the cave.

From the mouth of the cave came daylight, it was early morning still and I rushed down the rugged path being careful with Faith as she bobbed up and down. We got to a nice flat area with a few trees and I propped her up against a stump. She came around when a breeze came passing by. She looked and winced in the daylight clutching her wound.

"Hey, hey don't try to do anything too drastic," I said, "you took a pretty nasty shot there."

"Thank you," she said quietly.

"Hey you stood up for yourself you should be proud for what you did," Vulcan said looking at the forest ahead of us.

"Now I know it's going to be tough but we have a lot of ground to cover in a short amount of time," I told Vulcan.

"Welder," he said.

"Yeah Vulcan?"

He didn't say anything he just pointed back at Faith. She was gone, she succumbed to the injury. For the first moments I don't know if it was sorrow I felt or anger that flowed through my veins.

"Welder I'm sorry," Vulcan said placing his hand on my shoulder.

 _No, I won't let them get away from this_. I stood up and went back up to the mouth of the cave and untied my trenchcoat. I reached for the belt that carried my grenades and instead of grabbing one I undid the belt and whipped the grenades all over. They clinked and clanked off one another and on the ground. When I put the belt back on I reached for the detonator and turn the knob to 'All 'da Bombs' option and pressed the red button on top. I didn't even look behind when I turned back to the path letting the explosions ring through the air. When I got back Vulcan was furious with me.

"Something you must learn kid: they are things you have to do or just accept."

"Yeah but killing a bunch of innocent people?"

"They weren't innocent…."

"Yeah sure whatever you say."

He began to walk into the forest.

"I am sorry," I said, "I honestly did like you. Just let me ask you one question."

He didn't say anything, but he did stop and turned his head slightly.

"Why were you there?"

"How about this? You come to Beacon and ask me there." Vulcan then disappeared into the forest leaving me with Faith's body. I could barely look at her. She looked happy and at peace. I knelt down eye level with her closed eyes.

"I'm sorry. I failed to saved you. I understand that you're mother was a piece of work. It's just….why can't I save anybody? Why?"

Faith was buried before the mountain path between the forest and the new gravesite for 'The New Gods of Remnant'. I told the mother that Faith died, I didn't tell her how she died however and that was an experience. The next few nights grew pretty rough and the morning seemed like it would never come….


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Parties and Pirates

 _So I'm a little crazy, what's the big deal? If you had to deal with with what I've seen you probably would've went insane a long, long time ago. If it means anything, I find you narcissistic, overbearing, and a general pain in the ass. Listen for all I have done I have done it for the protection of Remnant, which is a lot more than what you can say. I kill so those who cannot fight back are given a fighting chance. While many souls are extinguished by my flames (there is a logic there I'm just not finding it yet) I have kept the playing field level. That is what I must do, you cannot have one side more powerful than the other, that is how wars start and lives are ended. Sincerely from the gamemaster, The Welder._

I woke up with a massive ass headache throbbing in my head. _Note to self:never to drink that many shots of whiskey again,_ I thought groggily trying to lift my body. The bottle used in last night's drinking session was spilled on the floor, not that it mattered since most of it was gone. I was a tad bit sad the fool who I took it from was one of my targets and I would never get a chance for a new one since it was a one of a kind brew called the 'Grimm Slayer'. I refrained from putting my usual headwear since the goggles would be hell on my eyes. Trying to focus I noticed that Takeda sent me a message while I was away with my previous endeavor. _Welder I need your help,_ it started over our secure line, _I'm in Atlas and I need you to hurry. I can't explain it right now because I'm not sure if it's safe to do so_ (was he doubting my technological prowess) _. Please come soon._ I began to work to replace the explosives used in the blast in the cave which took most of the day as the calculations for making the explosive substance was very touchy (one false move and the only thing left of me would be the stool I'm sitting on and maybe the hat because reasons). It wasn't quite nightfall when I emerged from the warehouse I called home and sealed the door to make it as if no one had inhabited there since the year it was made. Getting to Atlas would be the tricky, being located in Vale had some perks but getting to Menagerie, Mistral, or Atlas was always a challenge. I used to be able to sneak aboard a flight but when I didn't pack a way to ease my falling down at high altitude I realized it isn't for me. So it would be by boat (dear god), to the sea I will travel to Atlas and possibly be eaten by a fish (there are worse ways to go I guess like being hunted by your ex-wife).

The ship was an Atlasian cruise ship. There must have been a party going on because the amount of military and black tie wearing guest was immense. They were still loading as I cloaked behind the guards who were waving hand held metal detectors around the party goers. As I passed by one it went off triggering the different sound and the guard pointed at the elderly man who was then taken aside and patted down. Surprisingly they found a crap ton of coins, a scroll, and a military dagger that looked like something used when they still fought on horseback. Trying to avoid as much personnel as possible I sped up my walking pace positioning my body in and out between people. I waited for a guest to open the main door as seeing a door open by itself might send a few spiritual people to create a scene. Before the steel door closed I got a hand on it and slowly closed it trying to be as discreet as possible. A large hallway with wooden floors lined the pathway with multiple doors marked with numbers were spaced to the end. Another door was up ahead so I followed an older gentleman with his maybe thirty year old something wife (what a gold digger) so I didn't have to wait to get in. As you approached the door you could hear music, not the good kind but symphony music. The door opened and when I slipped through the crack a large gold ballroom showed itself. At the far end of the ship was a small group with a piano, a few violins, violas, a cello, and bass. They played that type of symphony music that has no right to be played anymore because time moved on from that kind. I don't know what the ids listen to these days but I certainly know it isn't that. Off to the sides were ornate round tables with couples and individuals talking about, I'm going to assume, their investments or who they're suing. Waiters in white button shirts and black vest walked around with an assortment of drinks that after last night made my stomach turn on its head (if stomachs had those). The lights in the room were infuriating, large, and needlessly bright, and that was with my goggles on. At the four corners and along the edge were Atlas military personnel standing at attention looking straight and not at the party. On their back were their tried and true white rifles, and their holsters were the standard issue pistol which I found to be quite cumbersome to fire, but what do I know I use welding torches for weapons. Nothing out of the ordinary just a regular party cruise down to Atlas. _Maybe Ironwood would be on here as well,_ I joked to myself and then sat at the farthest table from the front.

The boat slowly began to take its course on the ocean letting the waves bobble the vessel. With no one in particular to kill I just kind of rested and let my eyes stayed close for a while. I heard a sudden shut of the door with more footsteps than one person should give off and a sort of harsh, but quiet conversation.

"Listen we received reports of another ship beginning to tail us," the soldier quietly hissed, "we are not to tell any of the passengers of this! Only we can know and if it gets worse then we'll get them into their cabins and lock the doors. Understood?"

"Yes sir!" The other soldier responded with a quiet shout.

 _Interesting,_ I thought, _never had to against pirates, or whatever they think they are, but I might have to call them pirates just for old times sake._ The party seemed to go on for hours but you could tell the boat had picked up its pace over time, perhaps they were scared (oh goody). The usual trip to Atlas by boat was maybe a day to two days (maybe more) depending on who you took it with. The poorer the faster the trip, the richer the more you could enjoy going to what I preferred to call the Frozen Wasteland, but it will probably take about one and half by looking out the convenient port side window showing the waves hitting the boat in retaliation for crossing their sacred waters. I noticed a shadow from afar, well not really that afar more like 'umm should it be that close', coming closer. I couldn't tell it was a boat or not because by the way it was facing us it was coming at a perpendicular angle so all you could see in the darkest of night was possibly the front of the ship. A small flash came from the the right side of the shadowy mass with a small sound that was nearly impossible to hear due to an out of tune note on one the violins which physically hurt me. It caught my attention and when I turned back to the window I saw a small greyish ball came closer to the window I was so happened to be looking at. _Ah, son of a bi-_ , I thought before quickly ducking underneath the table. A cannon ball, roughly the size of bowling ball, penetrated our vessel like a vaccination on skin. The sound of breaking metal, wood, metal and glass caught the attention of everybody in the room. Multiple soldiers came from all sides of the room rushing passengers out. Meanwhile I was covered with splinters and metal shards so if I moved I would blow my cover (literally even). My motivation to move suddenly took a turn when I heard a second shot come from the ship which was now in better view. Quickly I rolled and got back up brushing myself off so now one was going to question why a piece of a two by four was floating in midair. The second cannonball ripped a hole next to the where the previous one was taking an Atlasian soldier with (I honestly don't want to describe what was left). The sound of waves crashing up against the ship and the sound of an alarm were the only things that could be heard till a soldier came on over the speakers.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he started, "please report to your rooms, we asking for your cooperation in this difficult situation so the quicker you help us the quicker we can get you to Atlas."

Let me just say this one little factoid that we all know is true but whenever we are put in that situation we always do this. Never say 'please remain calm' (it doesn't help when people aren't currently calm) because chances are if need a reason to stay calm we probably shouldn't be calm. Like for instance there is a god forsaken pirate ship in modern day times coming at us with cannonballs. You would think that after making a way to transform weapons into other weapons, have literal magic in the form of crystals, and laser weapons we could make a freakin' force field to deflect ballistic projectiles. But no we had to find a way to make robot soldiers (nice job Ironwood, glad to know where your priorities are). The vessel began to make its turn onto its broadside. Large metal planks shot out of the side punching its way into the hull of our vessel. Looking through the hole the ship was about a third of the size of a large Atlasian battleship (you know the big ones in the sky) with scrapes and scratches along the side. Something was written across it but I couldn't tell. I Could read the first word and it said 'Silver' but the other word was too shrouded for me to read it. Lights came from the hull of the 'Silver whatever' illuminating the planks and the second word: 'Amethyst'. The 'Silver Amethyst' I won't lie that's a good name. The sound of boots walking across the planks caught mine, and the soldier's, attention. The soldiers stood in a defensive perimeter while I stood off to the side where the first cannonball made its entrance. A large group of what should be considered modern pirates walked through the holes. When I say 'modern pirates' I mean they had pieces of armor, mechanical limbs and pieces, decent looking swords at their sides, and no parrots (I will admit though I'm a little disappointed in the lack of parrots). What I assume to be the captain walked in last with his facial expression that was smug and egotistical with a large smile. He was tall with a full goatee just to prove he was villainous. A long crimson coat with silver lining and buttons covered most of his body. On his head was a traditional pirate hat with red fur lining the inside of the brim. The long sleeves seemed to cover most of his hands leaving only his fingers to be seen. His leg appeared to be mechanical along with a mechanical eye that glowed a bright orange going into a darker the red as it got closer to the outside edge.

He raised his arms and then with a big shout said. "Well boys this is it, the motherload!" His voice seemed used to yelling as he had no problem in announcing their arrival. "Now before we plunder this yon ship, why don't we see if they want mercy. Which one is the 'leader' of this band of poor land-lubbers?" he said with a slight growl at the word 'mercy' and 'land-lubbers'.

The Atlasian soldiers looked around not quite in confusion but more or less in panic turning their heads back and forth in their defensive position. From the back a single soldier stood up that appeared much different from the typical Atlas recruit. This person wore the usual soldier garb (knee pads, chest plate, arm guards) but was colored with a brown instead of the blue or red (or is it red or blue). The helmet design was much different with the right side, where the eye would be located, having a triangular shape with multiple lenses that seemed to cycle through and switch between each other. "I am the leader," the soldier replied with a feminine voice. The feminine voice caught me off guard but as I looked closer you could see the chest plate was made to accommodate the more (my apologies in advance) feminine parts of the soldier.

The pirate captain began to chuckle and look to his men. "Well I didn't know we had lass on board this vessel." He paused taking off his hat revealing a bandanna covering his hair and then bowing in respect with what seemed to be his trademark growl after ever break, "my apologies may I possibly see your face and ask who is Captain Andrew Silver talking to?"

The female soldier sighed with great exasperation and began to remove the helmet. After jerking it from side to side the helmet came off revealing the woman's face. She had fair skin with little blemishes except for the red marks the helmet left. .Her eyes were a green hazel mix that had a 'are you serious look'. She shook out her hair which was actually made of blue feathers that went down to her shoulders. _So she is a faunas, interesting,_ I thought staying in my cloaked position which was beginning to get mentally draining. "I am Captain Petra Hamelin, Special Atlas Operative."

"Oh what a beautiful woman we have here boys," he chuckled followed by the rest of the crew chuckling till he raised a fist silencing them all, "well Miss Petra I have one simple thing to ask you."

"Oh yeah like what," she retorted in a dry irritated voice.

"I just want the valuables of all the crew on board and take some of you a prisoner," Captain Silver answered in such a calm mannered it appeared this wasn't his first rodeo.

"And what makes you think I'm going to do that? Apparently too many years at sea have washed your brain away," she jokingly stated followed by chuckling from the other soldiers.

That got to the pirate leader as he pulled a flintlock pistol (or at least a flintlock in design) and rested the barrel on the side of his hat's brim. "You know I can easily just walk away and blow this crappy ship to bits and loot the bodies once I leave," he seriously noted while scanning the room, "or I can let you lot live and we can be on our merry way." He turned to the room looking at the soldiers and passed over me. He then did a double take and squinted at me. _Aw shit,_ I thought bringing out my remote detonator twisting the knob. "Well, well it seems we have an unexpected spectator," Silver announced aiming his pistol at me and pulling the trigger. The pistol spit out a small blob of fire dust in the form of a bullet. Stepping to the side the fiery ball erupted and tore through the table and chair behind me while I couldn't hold my cloak any longer and it flashed between me and the cloak many times before fully revealing me.

I stood holding my detonator in my left hand while surveying the room with Miss Petra Hemlin surprised. "Why hello there," I greeted them.

Captain silver began to laugh hysterically soon regaining his composure after still leaning on what appeared his first mate who's arms were the size of tree trunks. "Greetings there," doing the same thing with his hat he did before, "might I ask who has the honor of meeting Captain Silver?"

"I am-" I began.

I was suddenly cut off by Miss Hamelin who had put her helmet back on: "That is The Welder, a cold-blooded killer."

I looked at her straight where her eyes should be and stared. "I was going to introduce myself before I was rudely interrupted but yes I am The Welder. And I prefer the term 'Hitman for hire'. Cold-blooded killer makes me sound like I have no humanity."

Both captain were looking at me now with one face obviously disgusted and the other half hidden but with her mouth you could probably tell she was sneering. The pirate captain was the first to speak. "You know," he said pointing his pistol back at me in a cold twisted tone, "I can tell by the way she was talking i bet someone would pay me a lot of Lien if I brought your cold dead corpse to them."

Petra then pulled a large sniper rifle out from the table she was using for cover. It had the basics of a sniper rifle but the end was more rigid with the butt of it being the only curved part on it. On the barrel were, what looked like, hand grips that contrasted with the grey with black outlines with a lighter grey finger indents. She then pointed it at Andrew looking down the sights with one of her lenses switching into a better position. "You won't lay a hand on him. If anyone is going to take The Welder in it's going to be the military."

We stood in a triangle: Andrew was pointing at me, Petra pointing at Andrew, and me standing getting ready to push the 'fun button' (but maybe I should give them a choice before we go on the eleven o'clock news). "Here is how it is going to go," I announced undoing the ties that held my trenchcoat together revealing a line of live explosives, "you shoot me and we all go up in a blaze of glory. Ah I love this, it's a perfect Mistrallan Standoff."

We all stood in our perfect triangle with the scrub pirates and lowly soldier becoming increasingly nervous. The leaders kept their cool, you could tell these two were good. At the moment when the suspense was at its peak (a moment that in the movies would focus on everybody's eyes) andrew was the first to pull up his flintlock followed by a chuckle. The chuckle became contagious as the pirates laughed, then the soldiers with Petra pulling up the rifle, and finally me switching the knob to off and the blinking red lights turned off. We chuckled for a short time until suddenly we all went back into our stances. Pistols and rifles went back to their previous positions and blinking red lights were blinking again. "Now listen here!" andrew yelled, "if anyone is going to win it's going to be me!"

"What?" I questioned, "you can't just say things and then they happen. Plus I have enough explosives to sink us before you can reach your ship."

"You can try but no one is going to blow themselves up when they obviously have somewhere to go!" The captain exclaimed before firing his pistol.

 _Dammit he called my bluff,_ I thought before jumping back turning off the explosives in the process. Through the explosion I heard an 'Open Fire' from Petra. The sound of bullets rang throughout the once pristine ballroom. I honestly didn't know who to fight for as soldiers and pirates clashed. Petra stayed at the back taking pot shots and then quickly taking cover while Captain Silver stayed at the front pulling a cutlass from the other side of his body and taking the fight to the soldiers. After some contemplation I looked at both sides and charged the pirates after Reason A  & 2 were set ablaze. I caught a pirate off guard and elbowed his face in then uppercut another with the poor unfortunate soul getting singed by Reason 2. After the flank of the pirates began to collapse they retreated to the holes made by their entrance and scattered to the edge of the deck. Andrew then shot at the walls above and forced rubble to block the way forward. I tried to run in before they closed but before I could my body naturally wanted to stay alive and forced me to stop before it caved in. I then heard the sound of clips and weapons clicking and I turned to see possibly every single gun from Atlas pointed at me. I then looked at Miss Hamelin and smiled beneath my scarf.

"Miss Hamelin I have an offer for you," I said giving a courtesy bow.

"And why should I listen to you?" She said looking through her sniper scope.

"I have personal business to attend to in Atlas and I would very much not like to swim there. So if I help you get rid of your pirate problem then I ask you to give me safe travel to Atlas. You may even put me in handcuffs if you so desire."

She pulled her head away from her rifle and began to contemplate with herself turning her head back and forth going over her options.

"Think about it," I interjected, "you: Petra Hamelin, will have captured The Welder the most feared criminal in all of Remnant. Think of the glory, the fame, the respect, think of the inspiration you would be to all the faunas children of Remnant."

I knew the last one struck a chord and everybody knew it. Being a faunas was tough enough but being a faunas in the Atlasian military seemed like one of the toughest things to to overcome, and I'm a (quote) 'cold-blooded killer'. "How do I know you won't just run off the moment we land in Atlas?"

"Do you wish for me to stay? We are negotiating my contract for this job all you have to do is say: 'I want you to stay in my eyesight at all times'."

"Then fine," she said, "I want you to stay by my side at all times, you will not run and you will not go off unless I say so. Is that understood?"

"Of course. Now do we have a deal?"

"Fine Welder, we have a deal."

This didn't sit will with the some of the soldiers as I walked over to shake her hand. Still defensive she was reluctant but after I stood with my hand out she decided to give a hearty shake. Soon the rest of the soldiers lifted their guns up and stood back up from their kneeling position.

"So what now?" Asked one of the non-descript soldiers asked.

"Well their ship hasn't left yet," Petra announced as one of the three lenses rotates into the center position, "so I would say they are still on the ship."

At that moment the ship suddenly jerked forward causing everybody to get off balance. Then a screech came through the speaker. "Listen up gentlemen, and ladies," it was Cpt. Silver's voice which seemed even more annoying in stereo, "you either hand me the booty aboard the ship or we blow it to smithereens! I will give you thirty minutes to do so and meet me at the bow if the ship."

"Any plans Welder?" Petra asked me leaning on her rifle.

 _Hmm we could-no that wouldn't work no they couldn't be that dumb, but it could possibly work with a little wordplay,_ I thought going over the many ways which it could end with either I get out alone, but alive, I could get shot, or we could all die either way someone gets shot or killed. "Okay here's what we're going to do…."

Petra and I approached the bow of the ship as waves crashed upon the hull. We were both carrying large sacks that covered what the contents were. Captain Silver was facing the open ocean and I would've charged him bit his humongous first mate was standing beside him. The man was massive with massive forearms. His bald dark skinned head was full of gold piercings on his ears, nose, mouth, and eyelid. On his hands were not necessarily brass knuckles (because brass knuckles would've been more conservative conservative) but more like 'brass gauntlets. The captain took off his hat and held it behind his back letting the end of bandanna get whipped by the wind.

"Along time ago," he began, his voice was much calmer, "my father said something very important to me. 'Son you want respect you have to earn it, show you have what it takes to lead'. It was quite funny, who knew that his son would lead a mutiny to get rid of my old man to take control of the crew. If only he knew." He finished with a quick chuckle then turned to us. "Ahh you have brought me my treasures! Why don't you be good people and hand them over?"

I raised my hand barely above my waist and Andrew's smile then dissipated. "Hold on for a moment."

Petra then took the reigns as per our plan dictated. "We decided to play a small game."

"Oh," Andrew said quizzically, "and what kind of game are we playing? Vermin Trap? Evidence? Maybe Apologies?"

"No," the faunas soldier said taking my sack and lifting them both forward, "in one of these contains the contents you desire. The other has some of The Welders explosives. You can choose one and The Welder will press the detonator and we will see what happens. If you choose right then we are blown to bits. But if you chose poorly then you better hope that the timer for those explosives go off takes a while.

Petra then walked into a median distance from the two group and put both sacks on the ground and walked to my side. I then pulled out the detonator and set it to 'All da Bombs' option. The captain slowly walked and inspected the bags by peering at all sides then making his decision grabbing one of the sacks then Petra grabbed the one left. I pressed the big red button and our sack began to glow bright red and flashed, we had the bombs.

"Ha!" Captain Silver triumphantly laughed, "You fools enjoy being fish food!"

"There is one issue with your gloating," I told the laughing captain.

"Oh and what would that be Welder?" The captain sain in a mocking tone throwing the sack over his shoulder.

"Well," Petra said scratching her chin, "just because one sack had the contents did not mean we put all the contents in that one sack and vice versa."

"What are you saying woman?" Andrew hissed.

"It means that both sacks had treasure and explosives," I interjected, "think of it as a very dangerous chex mix."

Captain Silver then looked at his sack as small little red blips came from inside the bag. He quickly tossed the bag overboard as I kicked ours the same direction. The sea then sprayed water in retaliation for sending such a vile thing into its midst. Captain Andrew Silver then glared at us pulling his flintlock and his cutlass out, his first mate then slammed the knuckles of his gauntlets together. Petra pulled out her rifle from her back holster for it and looked down the aimed sights.

"You know I don't think that will much good in a close quarters fight Miss Hamelin," I told her bringing Reason A & 2 back to life.

"Oh don't worry," she replied flicking a switch and grabbing it by the hand grips of the barrel, "just wait and see."

The butt of the gun and the trigger shifted and compacted then shift to let out a large cleaver blade shot out from where she puts her arm when in gun form. The trigger had disappeared and the once cumbersome sniper rifle had turned into a deadly weapon. _That's kind of badass,_ I thought to myself nodding in approval.

The brute charged and raised one of his monstrous fist that looked like the size of a manhole cover. In response I took him on since I thought Petra would have a hell of a time dealing dodging while holding that large cleaver blade. I grabbed the hand with both my fists and I strained to keep his hand held as the brute tried to shove me into the ground like a nail. I then felt a two feet leap on and off me as Petra spun forward whacking the first mate off balance giving me the room to lift him off me leading to a kick knocking the first mate to the floor. Petra raised her weapon up while she was still in the air bringing down only to be parried by Silver's cutlass. She swung low at his feet making jump like those games you would play with a jump rope. Only this was no game he took a point blank shot only to barely miss as a piece of the hull was shot off. Silver did a downward strike with his sword where Petra had to take the hit but she had aura like most of us warriors. Stunned for a second or two she did a two hundred and seventy degree turn with one hand on her weapon causing so much momentum that when Andrew parried the hit it sent him into the ship's siding. While those two continued the fight I was busy trying not to get flattened into a frisbee. He may have been strong but he was slow. So when he missed I would go in for a few singing punches. The main issue was this guy had really tough skin with more muscles than a gym giving out free steroids so it did virtually nothing. I got an idea and waited till he did a downward jab at the ground to get me off balance. With a quick hop the wooden deck below had a big crater with many splinters. I put my torches onto his metal gauntlets and the as he tried to pick up his fist I elbowed him in the nose. Soon the pain became unbearable and he released the heated gauntlet shouting in pain with many obscenities. He then swung madly at my face where with a small movement under his tree trunk like arms. I gave a singeing uppercut that burned his chin whiskers and seemed to incapacitate him. When I took a deep breath Petra was thrown into me catching me by surprise with her cleaver being knocked away switching itself back into its sniper form. Petra got back up but was tired and reached for the rifle while she got off of me. Andrew then pointed his flintlock at the two of us. He was furious, hatred filled his eyes and his breathing heavy.

"You put up a good fight ya filthy landlubbers," he said, "but that all ends here!"

In an instance I had to make a decision. _Oh god I can't believe I'm really going to do this_ , I thought to myself seeing the only possible solution that could come of this. I leapt in front of the shot and the the bullet struck my left arm. I landed on my right side thankfully but the pain of being shot still was painful (wasn't the first time either). This gave Petra, however, time to grab her sniper rifle and take a quick shot at Silver. The shot echoes throughout the ship as for a second Andrew was quiet then screamed in immense pain holding his mechanical eye with took the brunt of the shot before it ricochet.

"You bitch!" He yelled as sparks flew out between his fingers dropping his flintlock in the process, "You whore! You filthy piece of shit! Do you realize what I or who I had to go for to get this eye?!"

"Let me guess your dad?" she questioned as she was able to aim directly at the disheveled pirate captain.

He didn't say anything, he did growl but that doesn't count, his real eye was red and in tears the shot also awoke the first mate who quickly grabbed the captain and made a run towards the ship which receded the gang planks. Petra began to take a few shots at them but missed them and soon 'The Silver Amethyst' took off back into the shadows of night and soon to be morning.

"Let them run," I grunted standing back up, "they have nothing they want now."

She still looked in their direction for a while and then collapsed laying on her knees breathing heavily. Petra then looked at me and then stood back up. "We have to get you a hospital!" She announced as she stared at my bullet wound. The bullet still was embedded in my arm but I could see the slug and began to contemplate my options.

"Sure," I sarcastically remarked, "let's send me to the hospital and why don't we then just have them give me a lethal injection! Because if I go in I will not be coming out, especially in Atlas!"

"Well what do you think you have to do?"

I looked the gauntlet left behind and tore a flanged piece off. Looking at the sharp and pointed end I looked back at my wound and gave a sinister laugh. _When in Vacuo,_ I thought as I jabbed the piece of metal into my skin. I began to scoop out the slug quickly and I don't think I've done anything more painful. Petra was so horrified she looked away and covered her ears as I began to scream in pure pain. The slug clinked to the ground and as my other hand trembled I reactivated Reason 2 and with a quivering finger combination I held it in place as I cauterized the hole in my skin. _Two things can staunch the flow of blood: time and fire. I don't have time._ When the blood stopped flowing I turned off my torch and fell to my knees. My breathing became more normal one the pain had toned itself down, my nerves however were still screaming. Petra came to my good and helped lift me up.

"Come on let's get you to a bed."

She laid me down in a cabin that was meant for her but when the crew, soldiers, and passengers saw her leave her cabin she was regarded as a hero for saving everybody. They couldn't fathom how she did it all alone. The soldiers knew but they weren't going to tell how a criminal bested a group of pirates with a lot of gold and explosives. I rested my head up against the pillow and let myself fall asleep. _Takeda be safe, I'm coming,_ were my final thoughts when I drifted into my slumber….

- **Meanwhile in Atlas from the perspective of a female resident** -

There was a knock at my door at the most ridiculous hour. It kept pounding and pounding with each knock getting louder. Tying my bathrobe together I wiped my eye and turned on a light. "Who in their right mind would be knocking at this hour?" I said under my breath. I opened the door to see a man in armor leaning up against the guardrail, his arms bloody and battered. Chains were wrapped around his arms and he looked like warrior from eons ago. Where I assumed his eyes were behind his visor came a single streak of bright red blood.

He collapsed after struggling to say a single word then like clockwork the rain came in the words still burned in my mind

" _H-he-h-help me."_


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Relatives and Rejects

 _Oh god why am I doing this again? What possessed me to get involved in these matters? I personally hate this crap. You know what screw it I'm just going to blame you and throw a fit, that usually works. Here I am trying to make the world a better place and here you are saying I'm a bad person. Well excuse me for trying to help god knows you could use it. You know people are secretly cheering me on. Even some of the council members have asked what wrong have I done? Times are changing my mortal enemy, where will you stand when everything falls? Sincerely, the one peering from outside the looking glass, The Welder._

 **-From the perspective of the female resident in Atlas-**

The morning came with an abrupt awakening as something hit the ground with a large thud. _Not again_ , I thought getting putting on my bathrobe. Walking down my stairs I tied my long hair into a ponytail leaving at the side of my face. At the bottom of the stairs I looked at the man who came to me in the middle of the night. He had rolled off the couch I laid him on once he fell asleep. His armor laid against the closet door still with his blood smeared across it. The small streak of blood was gone but a small heap of dried blood layed under his short brown hair. He slowly got up propping himself on my coffee table. The man nursed the area where the blood used to be closing one of his green eyes. With a groan he began to stand up but nearly fell over until I grabbed him by the arm and let him lean on me.

 **-From the Takeda's perspective-**

I woke up with the worst feeling of pain I've experienced in my life, including the time I fought with The Welder. The last thing I remembered was knocking on a random door in the middle of a stormy night and everything went black. For some reason I felt the softness of fabric against my face and body. _Where is my armor?_ I asked myself noticing it had been stripped. I opened my eyes to be in a small apartment, the bright light was a bit blinding to my eyes. I saw my armor across the room smeared in what I assumed my blood after what I had been through the previous nights. Preparing myself to stand I shifted my weight onto my stomach and began to push upwards. My body didn't agree as my right arm gave out in pain and I rolled right off and hit my head on a corner of the nearby coffee table. _Ow,_ was the only thing I could think off before hearing quick but quiet footsteps coming from above my position. With my left arm I placed my arm on the table and felt my head throb. With my right hand I rotated the skin and felt dried blood near my hairline. The footsteps had stopped, I assume whoever it was had reached the final step. I decided to try to stand once more once my head began to settle down. Slowly, limb by limb, I stood up but this did not last long. I felt my knees and legs give out and I began to fall. My mind had gone into a wavering state and everything went fuzzy. Expecting a hard crash I was surprised that no such thing came. Instead I felt the soft touch of another person up against my chest and arm. After my eyes finally decided to open I saw one of the most beautiful sights in my entire life. A woman with long black hair was leaning against me holding me up. Her eyes were filled with a certain care and nurturing that I had seldom seen in another person. She then looked at me and caught me staring into her beautiful blue eyes. Embarrassed by this I quickly turned my head away looking in the complete opposite directions.

"You shouldn't be walking," she told me beginning to set me back on the couch placing a hand on my forehead.

I waved her hand off and I tried to stand back up, but then my body took control and forced my legs to ignore my mind. After a few seconds I replied. "I have to go. I have to finished what I started."

"Is it so important that you have to go and kill yourself? Look at you, you're in no condition to even walk let alone fight. If my assumption that's what you go do?" She questioned sitting me back down.

I looked at her straight not afraid of what I had to say. "I have to avenge them." I then began to stand up only to be stopped ber her hand on my chest.

Her eyes now filled with authority and anger as she sat me back down. "Listen here you big oaf. You are not going anywhere. So you can either try and fail in try to open the door or you could sit here and rest."

The woman now was scaring me and taking in my injuries I eased myself back onto the couch seat. She then gave a sigh of relief and stood back up. "Well glad to see you didn't get the sense knocked out of you. I'll go make us some breakfast. Is there anything you want?"

"I would like to know your name?" I asked seeing as how she did save me.

"Allison," Allison cheerfully told me, "what's yours?"

"Takeda," I replied with a smaller smile.

"Well then Takeda, would you like to explain to me why you were at my doorstep in the darkest hours of night?" Allison asked while walking towards the kitchen.

"It's a long story…." I began.

 **-From the perspective of The Welder still on the Atlasian boat-**

 _I hurt….a lot,_ was my only thought as a pain shot through my arm when I quickly rose in reaction from the bed I was sleeping on. For a moment I forgot where I was, then the memories of the previous night shot their way back into my mind. The pirates, Ms. Hamelin, the bullet I took for her, the horrific thing I did to my body to stop the bleeding. Standing up with ease I rotated the arm that had been shot and winced only slightly in the pain. I was always a tough cookie growing up but bullets still hurt. Cracking my bones as per my usual routine I soon heard a knock on the door followed by a female voice that took me a minute to recognized.

"Welder are you up?" Came the voice of Petra Hamelin, the faunas Atlasian sniper who had worked with me in getting rid of the pirate problem. She soon cracked the door open disregarding her usual patience seeing me up and around cracking my knuckles.

"Yes Ms. Hamelin?" I asked already expecting the following conversation.

She swung a pair of handcuffs around her finger. "We had a deal Welder," she said placing other hand on her hip. "Time for you to come with me. We'll be in Atlas water in ten minutes and I've already told them about you. They're bringing a second boat to get you transported to the maximum security prison. "

While I didn't like the sound of 'maximum security' I had to comply. I frankly didn't wish to fight a whole boat of Atlas military then have to evade another boat filled with more soldiers (never really was the best swimmer as well). I placed my two hands out front and let the bulky hand restraints cover my entire wrists, including the torches. _Damn they thought about what they were doing,_ I chuckled to myself.

"Okay let's go," Petra told me grabbing me by the cuffs and walking me out the door.

We walked out to the deck where all the soldiers from last night were there, their guns raised into attention in case I made a false move. Petra motioned them to lower the weapons and slowly, and with caution, the rifles and pistols went down. Nobody said a word aloud just whispers between the soldiers. One by one the soldiers turned their attention to a large white and gray ship with an Atlasian emblem on the side. I sighed deciding to break the silence.

"So this is how it ends for me," I stated looking at my future.

"It's what you deserve," she replied, "for what you did you should get worse."

"And what exactly do you think I did?" I asked. This was a common question I asked people usually giving me different response.

"You took it upon yourself to do what other took years to train for. You took it upon yourself to sentence people to death without a chance to explain them. You took it upon yourself to be a judge, jury, and an executioner. No man should ever have that much power."

That was one probably one of my favorite responses I had heard in a long time. It made me a little sad as to what I had to do next. "I must apologise in advance Ms. Hamelin."

"For what? Your crimes?"

"No. For this," I told her as I flipped body upward using the cuffs to choke out the faunas girl then landing behind her. The choking caught the attention of the soldiers who suddenly pulled up their guns. "Ah, ah, ah," I told them in a playful manner, "currently behind my coat is a single grenade ready to blow. You shoot me, you not only risk the life of your dear precious commanding officer, but this whole boat will go up."

They all looked at each other confused as to what they should do. Then they looked toward Petra who quickly gave a small nod and the group lowered their weapons once more.

"That's more like it," I said lifting my arms above her head and kicking her forward making a run for the side. The group then began to shoot me and while still cuffed I used it as a bulky and unwieldy weapon knocking out several troops. Over time you could it cracked from hitting the helmets of the soldiers. Getting to the edge of the deck I smashed the cuffs into pieces by slamming them into the hull.. Twitching my fingers into freedom I made a run for the door that I had entered in followed by Petra and a small group of soldiers.

"Stop him!" She ordered, "Don't let him get away!"

Going farther and farther below deck I reached the lifeboats. Besides the boat was a small patrol boat which was standard issue on all Atlas boats, even the party boats. Pressing multiple knobs and flipping a ton of switches the back hatch of the boat slowly opened with the speed of a snail. I hopped into the smaller vessel and started the boat with relative ease. _Well at least they make it easy for me to escape._ The sounds of the hatch opening alerted the other soldiers to my position. A whole slew of people made their way downstairs beginning to fire haphazardly. When the hatch stopped moving it was now in the perfect position to let out a small vessel, all it needed was a push. While the push seemed easy it wasn't (don't know about you but trying to push an object while being shot at is no simple task). I looked at my belt and saw one of the grenades I used in my bluff and threw in the middle of both parties. _My apologies Ms. Petra Hamelin, but I have a friend to save perhaps next time,_ I said to myself blowing the explosive pushing everything in the

room back. I ducked underneath as the blast broke the glass windshield and damaged the front but it did launch the vessel into the open ocean. Well, as open as an ocean can be with a second Atlasian ship in the water. Driving quickly away from the two large ships the boat bounced off the waves kicking up water. The second boat began to fire its weapons at me. _Damn, they're serious about getting me,_ I thought while weaving in and out of the incoming fire. Geysers of water erupted as the sounds of whatever they used for ammunition zipped past me and the small vessel I commandeered. Looking back down to increase the speed of the boat I began to see the mainland of the continent. In a daring move I charged the larger boat head on. _A game of chicken is how it must go_ , I told myself. When I got close enough to the ship I lept off the side of the patrol boat and latched onto a large chunk of its hull. The vessel I rode on crashed into the side of the large prison ship and exploded in a ball of flames. Activating my semblance so my grey clothed body didn't contrast with the white hull of the ship I turned invisible and kept staring at the burning wreckage of the patrol ship. _Let's hope they assume that I sank to the bottom_. After hours of surveying the ocean the large prison ship turned its position and went back to Atlas. The ship docked at the entrance to the city of Atlas, a technological paradise. Advanced weapons, breathtaking technology, and I far as I knew was a certain samurai companion who needed my help. Nursing my two arms which had grown tired of hanging off the hull of another ship I lept down, while still invisible mind you, with a thud that caught the attention of two dockworkers. _Aw shit,_ I thought stopping where I was. They began to walk themselves over before a large monitor lit up catching the attention of all the dockworkers.

"Attention," the new anchor who appeared on it, "The Welder, notorious criminal, murderer, and bounty hunter is dead. He crashed into the side of a ship whilst trying to escape Atlas military. While his body has not been found we are certain that he is deceased. We will have more details for you later along with the story: Puppy and Moose become unlikely friends at eleven."

When the breaking news had stopped and the screen went back to normal programming a sudden cheer was heard from several dockworkers. "Yeah that asshole is gone!", "Good riddance I say!", "Wish I could've done it myself!" were just some of the things that were said. While I did have half a mind to kill the dockworkers I decided it might be best to stay hidden. At least the police wouldn't be searching for me high and low while I tried to find Takeda. When I got to the streets I must have never really realized how infamous I was. People were in the streets, dancing, celebrating, and being happy. _Was this how I was to be remember when I'm gone_ , I asked myself. Don't get me wrong I want to be remembered but seeing the celebration got me a tad depressed. _Well then before I leave I will have to install fear back into the masses before I leave._ I then continued to walk down the Atlas streets looking for Takeda.

 **-From the perspective of Takeda-**

I was watching some stupid knitting show with this Allison girl when a breaking news report came in. The headlines read: "Scoundrel of Authorities Dies in Boat Crash".

After the broadcast was over I felt a tad defeated, and incredibly depressed. The Welder had been killed. _That can't be right_. I had asked him to help me and now he's dead. It was Allison's next comment that threw me off the ledge.

"Well good riddance to that guy. He was scum of the earth." She said.

I stood up, my injuries were healed after hours of sitting and went to my armor. "You don't know The Welder like I do." I began to put on my armor when Allison stopped me.

"What do you know about The Welder? The guy's killed many good people." Allison replied angrily, "a friend of mine lost her uncle because he working a case on helping faunas rights."

"I have faced The Welder before," I simply told her as revealing that I was his friend might upset her even more. I then attached my arm guards and shin guards, "and that guy doesn't know when to stay down. He's like a festering sore."

"Kind of like you?" She retorted stopping all of my movement.

It was true I was trying to get out quickly. I am a man of action, and what I did could possibly hurt this nice woman who helped me if they found out I was still alive. "Allison you're a nice woman, but I must go. If the people who attacked me know I'm still alive then they could come for you and I couldn't live with myself if something happened to you."

"Do you really mean that?" She asked touched putting her hands on her chest.

"Naga's word," I told her placing my right clenched fist over my heart as I finished putting on my armor.

She looked at me surprised with me in my old armor still lined with blood smears still on the sides. I finished with spinning my chains around my arms until they locked into place. I was about to walk out until something felt off, something was missing. I looked at my belt and saw my katana was gone. I turned to Allison who was holding it in her hands waiting for me to take it.

"Are you really that worried about me?" I asked her beginning to grab my sword.

When I placed my hand on the sheath I was immediately pulled by Allison ho then hugged me. "Please don't leave, you'll die," she said while her face was up against the part of my neck not covered by armor, "just stay one more night, please."

Had she fallen for me? I believe the term is the Florence Nightingale effect. If this was the case then I will not only hear it from The Welder but when I explain my relationship that me and The Welder share to Allison I might be killed (by Allison but maybe The Welder for making him come all the out here). "Fine," I told the now crying girl, "one more night." The night was then summed up in a single thought: _What had I gotten myself into._

 **-From The Welder's Perspective-**

Night had fallen along with most of the celebrations ending. I was still ticked by that (I am a very sensitive person after all). It was eleven and angling my ear into the window of a nearby pub the news had come on with everybody shushing one another trying to listen. The monitor had changed to a field reporter near the docks where they were interviewing a certain faunas soldier.

"So what experience had led you to capturing The Welder before he escaped?" The reporter question pushing the microphone into Petra's face.

"Well we were attacked by a group of pirates while sailing from Vale. For some reason he was there, when we interrogated him we found out he had business in Atlas to attend to. We agreed to a contract where we gave him passage to Atlas if he helped us. However we noted that he had to be in handcuffs and take him to prison the moment he would enter Atlas waters."

"Yet he managed to escape your confinement?"

"Yes unfortunately he managed to break free after using me as a hostage. From there he stole a patrol boat and tried to make his exit, you know the rest from there."

"Do you think he could've been working with the pirates to gain some false sense of security?"

"The Welder has been known to work alone so we have no reason to believe he working with a second party."

"Thank you for your time Ms. Hamelin."

"Anytime," she said before turning back towards the docks.

 _Well that was depressing_ , I thought to myself, _she could have had a bit more bravado or at least the Mistrallan Standoff we had with the captain._ I continued walking without my cloak on since it seemed redundant since I was already dark clothed and pretty well camouflaged. I rested my arms above my head and walked down an alleyway that seemed to litter the town of Atlas. Out of the corner of my goggles I saw a few shady looking people doing the shady business that shady people usually divulge in. getting close you could see a younger man, maybe in his late twenties smoking a cigar and dressed in a pinstriped suit talking to a second older gentleman carrying a briefcase just standing outside of a fancy black car. The younger man had the sides of his bright blonde hair shaved and the top combed over in a suave style the older just had a bad case of the male pattern baldness.

"Do you have it?" The younger man said pulling his cigar out and placing back in with a devilish older man didn't say anything but just opened the briefcase revealing a large stash of lien to the younger man whose smile grew larger. "Good, the Don's going to appreciate the gift and your service." The younger person took the briefcase and the older simply went back into the car. Then because the world hates me I stepped closer to get a better look but accidently kicked a metal can letting the sound echo for what seemed like hours. The younger man took out his cigar and snapped two of his fingers while knocking his ash from his cigar. "Go see what that was," he told two larger men in suits that had been hidden behind the building.

They were large dark skinned with many tattoos. Their coats stopped midway through their arms showing off their massive forearms. The two big oafs looked at both walls of the alley until they reached where I was laying in wait. I launched myself from the wall and gave a wicked punch to the jaw of one of the bulky brutes knocking him down. The other then swung his fist at me only to miss due to my reflexes. I raised my left arm and brought my elbow down on his exposed arm. You could hear the cracking of bones as my elbow slammed down. As he yelped in pain I lumped up and kicked him in the front of his face. The brute who was now bloodied and broken stayed down while the first pulled out a common pistol and shot at me. Quickly dodging the shots ricocheted rang off in the night. This caught the attention of the two dealers who were still at the mouth of the alley. Well they were at least as the sounds of tires screeching against the pavement and the sound of a second pistol went off this time from the younger more gaunt dealer. He sneered as all three of us stood in the crowded alleyway.

"You just caused me a great deal. The Don ain't going to be happy about this," he hissed in such a stereotypical gangster voice it wasn't even funny.

Before he could fire a second shot a grey blur jumped from above him. I was quite relieved to see Takeda when he stood on top of the young asshole. The second brute fried his gun again this time at the samurai who deflected the bullets by spinning his chains (because that's how logic works). Takeda then threw one of the chains that wrapped around the neck of the big brute and pulled him to Takeda. With a punch to the face the large man fell to the floor and the person Takeda was standing decided to speak.

"Oh not you again," he breathed out, "can't you take a hint?"

"Oh come now Reginald we have much to discuss," Takeda replied in tone that didn't remind me of the samurai before.

Something seemed off about what was going on. Takeda was not one who would act in this kind of manner. Usually I act in this kind of manner, that manner being an asshole. "Takeda," I said catching the attention of both of them, "what is going on here?"

"This doesn't concern you right now Welder," Takeda hissed as he brought up the kunai tip of his chain and was about to lower it.

"Well apparently you needed me so bad you had me travel a whole ocean to get here. So if you please I would like to know what the HELL is going on?!"

He didn't even look at me, he just stared at the so called 'Reginald' his kunai still in hand. He was about to bring it down before I stepped in. Holding his arm about two feet above the gangster's head I held his arm with just my hand. "What are you doing?!" Takeda growled, "Let. Go. Welder!"

I flipped him off the gangster who then began to stand up and dust himself off. "Whew thanks buddy," the gangster said in his cocky tone, "if you didn't help then he might have *hngh*!"

I didn't let the fool finished as I picked him up by his collar lifting him a few inches of the ground and looked directly into his eyes. I turned him around so he was facing Takeda while holding him by his neck. He struggled to move out of my hold as I just stood there while Takeda got up from the ground. "Now let's try this again," I told Takeda, "you're going to tell me why you want this man dead and why I am here."

Looking at me he began to contemplate his options. He could either kill the gangster where he stood where I personally would beat the shit out of him then or he could tell me the truth. He decided on the latter. "That guy right there is my half-brother."

Through my goggles you could see me looking at Takeda, then Reginald, back to Takeda, and then Reginald once more. "I'm going t o need a bit more than that."

"Let him down and I promise to tell you everything later," Takeda pleaded.

"Fine but you don't get to kill the poor bastard at least not yet."

I set the half-brother (still sounds weird) back down he gasped for air while kneeling on the ground. From a distance the sounds of sirens were shrieking in the night. _Looks like we caught ourselves some attention._ I looked to Takeda who looked back and nodded in response. Before we fled from the street I gave a swift kick to Reginald's head knocking him unconscious. We fled from the street weaving in and out through alleys before we reached a complex that Takeda began to walk up to. I grabbed his arm in a 'are you sure about this'.

"It's fine Welder," Takeda told me, "well possibly."

He opened a door to the sudden movement of a woman with black hair hugging Takeda. She was so focused on the samurai that I scared the absolute crap out of her when I spoke.

"So what'd I miss?" I asked the two.

"Ah yes where are my manners?" Takeda asked himself, "This is Allison," he paused for a bit trying to think of something to say then, "Allison this is The Welder." Her blue eyes grew wider then I think should be feasibly possible by anybody. Quickly she ran towards what I assumed to be the kitchen because when she came back she was holding a frying pan and would've hit me had Takeda stop her. "Allison wait! The Welder is a friend of mine." This prompted the woman to give him a look of pure distrust and almost hatred. "I know it seems bad but I trust The Welder, and you should trust him too."

She really didn't say much except for: "I need to go lie down for a while." When she left the room I remained standing while Takeda sat on a couch. "You have a lot to explain here Takeda. One: why am I here? Two: what was that about your half-brother? Three: how long has that (imagine me pointing to where Allison had walked out of) been going on?"

"Okay, okay," he said, "fine I'll tell you everything. Are you familiar with the Donati family? (this prompted a nod) Well Don Donati, the head of the household, happens to be my father. (I just about fainted after hearing this. I mean really this guy was the son of the most notorious crime bosses in Remnant?) I was born after he took liking of a woman from Mistral, a very common thing since you met my half-brother. Seeing as how he had enough children to deal with he sent me to die when I was a baby and killed my mother. I still remember that day…. (the mood grew rather depressing and I almost told him to stop but he kept going). Before I was dead though I was apparently picked up by a woman who found me. She took me home and had me brought into the Naga family. They trained me to fight honorably like their ancestors. What I didn't know was that the Naga family was another mob-style family, only they were called a yakuza. Overtime I had forgotten about my previous life, wasn't really hard to, that was until 'dad' decided to pay a visit. The two families were arguing over territory in Mistral and the Naga clan told the Donatis to basically screw off (again after this he paused taking off his helmet to wipe away tears that were hidden from me). I still remember the first shots being fired. I hid, scared as I saw my adopted brothers and sisters being shot down like. The man who I considered to be my real dad came to me, bullets were still riddled in his chest and told me to come with him. He took me to a room below the mansion that housed the sacred armor and sword of the Naga family (it was at this point he pulled his sword away from his belt holding it in both his hands and paused for a longer time)."

"Takeda I-I'm sorry," I told him trying to console him.

"They slaughtered them Welder…. just laughing not knowing the lives they were ruining," he sniffed between tears, "I was so close to getting rid of another one of those rats and then you had to show up and ruin it."

It was rather hurtful to hear Takeda say that but I still understood why he was acting the way he was. "Tell me about the girl now," I told the weeping samurai sitting back down in the chair.

"Last night I found some Donati thugs out at a warehouse so I decided to go take them out. There were so many of them. I did it though, I was beaten and bruised, and bloodied but I did it. I could barely move, my body telling me to stop. I was going to die so I knocked on the first door I saw and then _she_ let me in. However what happened today was not what I was expecting."

"What happened?" I asked a tad bit afraid of the answer.

"Do you know the Florence Nightingale effect?"

"OH GOD!" I yelled standing up.

"Yeah I think she fell for me….you want to know the worst part?"

"Do I want to know the answer?"

"I think I fell for her too," Takeda said looking down at the floor.

"OH COME ON!" I repeated then followed by a smack to the back of Takeda's lover boy head, "Get a damn grip! So she saved you! That doesn't mean that you can fall in love with the first person who saves you. Listen you want my help, you got it. Let's go kill some Donati shits and maybe put this behind you."

"You just don't get love do you Welder?" He said standing back up tying his sword back to waist side and putting his helmet back on, "But it will be nice to have you on my side." He looked back towards the stairs, probably still thinking about the girl who nearly hit me with a frying pan.

We walked back out the door into the street where darkness had completely overtaken the city of Atlas. The only things giving light were the lampposts with their small cone of light. Takeda told me about another warehouse that was a front for the Donati family business. Located in the farthest of the docking sector it was secluded and discreet. The perfect place for a transaction of illegal goods. When we arrived at the meeting place two groups stood opposite of each other. From one end stood the elderly gentleman from earlier with Reginald on the other side, it seemed they were doing the same deal from earlier. Multiple men in suits stood in a circle looking away from the two men doing their deal. Takeda tapped my shoulder and whispered into my ear.

"Okay here's what we're going to do," he quietly uttered, "I'm going uptop to surprise them from above while you get in close to take out the guards." I was about to move before he grabbed my shoulder forcefully pulling me back. "Reginald is mine," he said in a dark tone that gave the samurai a bit more respect in my opinion.

Stealthily he climbed the grates while under the cover of darkness since windows were seldom in numbers. I cloaked and slowly walked towards the men. The usual, cut and dry mob henchmen. Glasses, suits, shiny shoes, and an array of facial hair were all that made the each of them a little different. From above I could barely see the samurai except for the careful movements he did trying to avoid being seen. Luckily all the guards were focused on what was directly in front of them instead of what was above them. I could barely see him raise his arm with a kunai in hand and launched it at an unsuspecting henchman. Wrapping around his leg the sound of the metal links of the chain caught the attention of all the men. The henchman target by said chain let out a "huh" before being lifted into the air. Takeda dropped the man and he landed with a *thud* that made me avert my eyes. Reginald turned around and motioned three henchmen to where the chain had came from. The three guards went up the stairs only to be thrown off the guardrail with Takeda landing on top of one of them seeming to break the back.

"Hello Reginald," he simply said.

"Good god don't you know how to leave me alone!" He yelled.

"I'll leave you alone when I see your cold corpse being ran by my blade."

After this all the guards lifted pistols and pointed them at Takeda's face followed by laughter from Reginald. "You know you should have killed me earlier in the day when that big fella let me go."

"Oh don't worry the 'big fellow' is still here. Welder! Now!"

"Not the best signal I will admit but fine," I said from my cloaked body then becoming visible and grabbed the head of one of the henchman with one hand on his forehead and another on his chin. As one tried to swing a punch I snapped the neck of the one I was holding and smacked the other with the momentum that came from snapping a neck. I then started the torched and Takeda went in. As he threw a guard my way I grabbed him by the collar and threw his useless body at another knocking them both down. A point blank shot was fired but thankfully missed because he held it in that awful 'gangster style' shooting position. Grabbing his hand I cut through the pistol like butter that soon caused a small explosion due to the technology in the pistol. From both sides of my face I saw Takeda's two chains zip past me wrapping themselves onto a henchman with ease. Takeda whipped his arm back and the man flew towards me. _Nice work_ , I thought as I delivered an uppercut to the man's gut launching him into the air. Because Takeda really hated this one guy for some reason he still had his chains wrapped around him and swung him across knocking all the leftover henchmen over and unconscious. All that were left was the older man and Reginald who somehow didn't run in the chaos. The old man however stayed stoic for an odd reason. I didn't recognize him from anywhere so I grew curious as Takeda approached Reginald. The stoic man simply glanced over at the quivering Donati spawn and looked at his diamond encrusted watch. Reginald hit the ground after falling from walking backwards.

"He-heh-hey buddy can't we talk about this?" He asked Takeda in a voice that would make most criminals disgusted.

"You don't get to talk," he said delivering punches, "this is for my mother *punch*, my sisters *punch*, my brothers *punch*, my father *punch*." It was at this point he unsheathed his sword holding it above his head. It gleamed in the moonlight from the windows showing off its pristine yet deadly curve. "And this is for me and everything your accursed family has done to me!" He finished by stabbing Reginald in the chest who cried in anguish and pain. His mouth filling with blood moving his arms to try and take the blade it out of his chest. He eventually stopped, his hands and face falling to the side as his body went limp. Takeda stood, the sword still in Reginald's chest. He then pulled it straight out holding it horizontally so the blood dripped off the blade and back onto Reginald. Takeda then flipped the sword around still facing the side and ran his gloved hand against the blade cleaning the Donati filth that ran along it. The stoic man who watched as the samurai had killed in cold blood soon turned and walked over to the side.

"Stop," Takeda spoke with the man who continued to walk not even acknowledging his presence, "who are you?"

It was then at that moment the man stopped and turned to face the samurai. "You don't know who I am Takeda, and you will probably never know who I am. Let's just say, I'm a friend." He then walked out of the building leaving the two of us in silence.

We didn't speak a word until we returned to Allison's place. Where she greeted Takeda with open arms who hugged the girl tightly. She looked at me with a twitch of hostility but less than before. "Well?" She asked, "Is it over?"

"For now," Takeda replied still in the arms of his new lover.

I still stood in the doorway feeling a little out of place before Allison spoke to me. "Thank you for bringing him back safely," she told me prompting a quick tipping of my hat revealing my scarfed dome.

The next morning came with a long night's rest. Me and Takeda stood at the docks in secret while Allison was saying goodbye to Takeda. "Do you really have to go?" She asked in hopes he would stay.

"Don't worry," he told her, "once I help The Welder with whatever crazy plan he needs my help with, I'll come back for you."

Seemingly moved by this she kissed the samurai on uncovered part of his cheek and after that he kissed her hand. After turning away we stole a small air ship that would take us back to Vale. It was some time into the flight as I operated the pilot seat when Takeda came in.

"Alright Welder what are we doing now?" He asked, "You made me walk away from a beautiful woman who wanted me so this better be good."

"We are approaching The Anniversary." I simply told him staying focused on the open skies.

"The Anniversary of what?" He questioned leaning against one of the chairs.

"The Anniversary of when I became The Welder. The day when I realized huntsmen cannot protect everybody. The day I realized that everything I had worked up towards was a lie. The day I realized that I had one mission before leaving this world."

I then turned to Takeda who was giving me looks of confusion and worry. With what I said next his eyes went wide.

"Takeda, we are going to kill Ozpin."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: The Anniversary and Answers. The End of The Welder.

 _Ozpin! Heed my voice! I have grown tired of waiting. Previous events have made me realize I cannot wait any longer. You lied to me. You lied to my friends. You let us die like animals! Slaughtered, beaten, and betrayed! Well now I think it's time to return the favor. I will take all my anger, all my pain, all of the things I've kept inside me for years and I will take it all on you. You can prepare all you want but it won't make a damn difference, nothing will stop my rage and my onslaught! So prepare yourself o grand wizard! I am coming for you and one of us will not survive! Sincerely, from one of the most wanted criminals on Remnant, from the unbiased judge, jury, and executioner, from the loneliest mortal atop Mount Olympus, from one madman to another, from the deceived, enraged, and vengeful, from the loudest, quietest man, from the gamemaster, from the one peering into the looking glass, from The Forgotten One, The Welder!_

 **-From the perspective of Takeda-**

The sound of The Welder's car running in the night was the only thing either of us heard. My helmet laid in my lap being held by my two hands as I stared into the black visor barely seeing my reflection in the darkness. I decided not to look at The Welder during the drive, the anger that radiated from him could attract Goliaths. The roar of the engine grew louder easing my nervousness as I was afraid to strike up a conversation. Why did he want Ozpin dead? Sure he had a distinct hatred of huntsmen but to go after the headmaster of Beacon Academy was suicide. If he were to even try surely the military would be sent for him, he would have nowhere to hide. The Welder didn't seemed phased though, was he ready to die? I kept staring into my helmet letting the thoughts bounce off the walls of my brain trying to figure it out an answer, or perhaps a question. His hand went to the gear shifter and he went farther along the gears, the engine growing louder as the warehouse where I had confronted him before come into view. The headlights illuminating the decrepit doors and bare walls. The Welder walked out followed by me doing the same. His hands were in his pocket and even though his face was covered you could tell his eyes were eyeing something in the back. The farthest wall, covered by debris, dirt, and metal was clumped in a large pile. The Welder stopped to look at the pile, almost like a gravestone, knelt down and began to dig with his bare hands. He threw pieces of metal to the side and I quickly began to give him a hand. We were getting close, I could feel the metal pieces getting smaller. I hit a solid chunk of metal, confused I put my hand down trying to feel it, it was then that The Welder grabbed my arm and I looked at him in response.

"Please," he said. His voice, while not garbled or disguised, was cold, bone chilling, dark, and almost depressed. "Go back to the car while I finish up here."

I stared back into his goggles and with a nod I walked back to the car. I turned my head back to him as he bent down farther, the sound of metal hitting one another was evident more so. I leaned myself up against the hood while waiting for him to get finished. A thought came in my mind, my helmet has infrared vision capabilities and he never said I couldn't. Turning on the vision it took my eyes a bit to adjust to the difference. That's when I saw it. The body of The Welder stood up from the mass holding something, I couldn't tell what it was but he put it in his trenchcoat, so it must be important. He began to walk back and with a push of a button on my helmet the vision returned to normal leaving my eyes to readjust themselves. He didn't say anything, he practically ignored me, and he got back into the car revving the engine. I still sat on the hood lost in thought until his voice rang out.

"Are you coming or are you going to fall flat on your back when I leave?"

"Oh sorry man," I told him opening the door and getting back in and the car raced back and went down the unbeaten road.

The speed at which The Welder was going was a little too much for me. I knew this was urgent but something seemed wrong. Since he spoke first I decided to strike up a conversation.

"So," I said nervously almost expecting him to shut me up, "are we going straight to Beacon?"

It took him several minutes to reply but he did. "No. Not yet I need to make a stop first."

"What are we doing? Beating up some thugs? Stealing something? Saying goodbye to a girlfriend?"

That last one was to lighten the mood, it didn't work, as The Welder slowly turned to me. You could feel his gaze practically stabbing you. He turned and relaxed his shoulders shifting into his seat. "You could say something like that?"

 _Wait what?_ I stopped myself from saying to avoid any more uneasiness. The Welder, a murderer, a killer of anybody, slayer of huntsmen, had a _girlfriend?_ That cannot be, he must be lying. I was proven wrong as the sound of his breathing grew more deep and slow. Was he… nervous? We spent another hour in silence as the capital came into view, but before we went down the way to the hanger where the ships went off to Beacon, The Welder took a sharp turn to the left going up a grassy hillside. It was a rough road as the car bumped off the four wheels and the sound of metal hitting the bumps was an unpleasant one at that too. Seeming to keep his stoic ways he didn't move the steering wheel wildly to straighten out he just made small adjustments. We approached the gates to something, the title of the establishment went by too quickly for me to see. The gates were closed, at this time of night it was no surprise, he nudged the gas pedal and the nose of the car showed that the gates were barely hanging on. This time stepping on it the car smashed the gates off with a loud sound the gates fell to the floor after scraping themselves on the entirety of the car. That's when I realized where we were. It was a cemetery. The gravestones lined up telling the bits of the lives of the people who laid beneath them. Many lived long lives, but the ones hard to look at were the ones whose lives were but short. We were already going slow throughout the place, his eyes never left the front. He didn't bother looking at the other people like I did, he knew where he was going. The car came to a halt and the engine quickly was turned off. The Welder just sat there looking at the dash while I looked at him. I put my arm on his shoulder causing him to jerk his head towards me.

"You okay?" I asked.

He paused for a while and turned his head to the side before bringing it back up. "Yeah I just haven't been here in a long, long time." The Welder then opened the door and walked out.

The night was cold, empty, and quiet. No birds chirped in the night, the sounds of the city were there but barely, the light were far from this place. The wind casually breezed slightly causing the ends of The Welder's coat to flow with the breeze. His hands in his pocket once again he looked at the gravestones that laid before him. I had gotten out by this time and leaned my body on the door of the car which still had its headlights on. It was then that The Welder began to speak.

"Hey guys how are you doing?" He asked. I thought it was directed towards me and was about to answer till he spoke again, "I'm sorry I haven't been around lately. The job has left me preoccupied. I know I promised to spend more time with you but I am only human, if not cursed by the devil at this point. Oh, I brought a friend with me," This caught my attention as his arm motioned back towards me, "his name's Takeda, he has a few family issues but he's working on it." I began to grow curious at who was he talking to. I didn't see anybody come in and his head was lowered so I decided to walk up slowly at first angling my head up farther to get a better look. That's when I saw 'them'. Four gravestones with one larger stone behind the four. I couldn't see their names or age but the larger one was right in the middle of the headlight beams. It read: 'Team FATH, may they forever be in our hearts and mind. They went in trying to help protect and gave the ultimate sacrifice.' The Welder had gone silent, he noticed that I saw the gravestone, he looked at me but I couldn't tell if he had any emotion.

"Welder," I talked to him softly, "what is going on here." He just stared back at me for a long time, only I wasn't nervous or scared, I wanted real answers. He had just taken me from the woman I had just fell in love with, he tells me we're going to kill the headmaster of Beacon, then drags me to a cemetery and talks to a few headstones. I deserved answers.

The Welder pointed to the large stone illuminated by the headlights. "There. That team right there. Team FATH (pronounced 'faith') went into a village on day hoping to help the locals who had been dealing with bandits. They were experienced, a fourth year team and were going to become huntsmen the next year, the powerhouse of Beacon, they did well in both Vytal Tournament and barely failed a mission. They thought it would be easy, protecting a village from some bandits, they thought they would have it done in a few days max. But the situation turned sour real fast. The bandits were too well equipped for regular thugs. By the time the bandits left, the village was in tatters, the team was dead and then the Grimm came in. If there were survivors the Grimm made sure they were dealt with." The Welder then pointed to the first gravestone to the far left, "Faith was the leader of the team named after her. She was rambunctious, rash, fun-loving, and one of the most beautiful girls in the whole school. Every week some random guy would try to win her over with flowers, chocolates, or some cheesy pickup line but they never worked on her. She was known for wielding a wicked mace and scepter combo weapon that used dust to her advantage, she was hell on the battlefield." He then shifted his hand one gravestone down. "Ashley was the most outgoing on the whole team, even beating Faith, she would try any food, give her opinion on any topic, finish her essays last minute still scribbling a sentence as she walked up to hand it in.. Sometimes to be a bit promiscuous around the opposite gender she seemed to like to tease guys more than actually date them. She seemed to be fearless where others would hide." The Welder then shifted again pointing to another keeping his gaze fixed on the stones, "Tracey was one of the best fighters in the school, born and raised from a family of huntsmen and huntresses she seemed to go down that very same path. Her will was unbreakable, not even in the face of Alpha Beowulfs would she crack under pressure. A stoic and generally reserved woman very many decided to keep their distance lest she break them like styrofoam." He then paused looking at the final one, he sighed and put his hand down to his side, back into his pocket. "Then there was Wells, the only male on the team. Some called him lucky, but his teammates and himself knew that wasn't the case. Born with nothing to his name Wells was born an orphan, how poetic when you think about it, he never saw his parent once, and grew up in the orphanage. There was no future given to him, he had to make his. Seeing as how he had much time doing nothing he would train for hours, even days on the weekend saying 'he'll be back' one day and not return till the day before school. He never got to go to combat school because of his financial situation so he just continued to practice by himself for years. The day came for him for the rigorous exam for Beacon. Everybody was skeptical he would make it, with no prior experience from the combat schools he seemed hopeless. They were all proven wrong as he emerged as one of the better fighters. However his demeanor had left overs to be wary of the boy, he was never the nicest to anyone even himself at times. When he was paired with the three girls they began to pry him out of his shell. It took time and many frustrated evenings from both parties but the cold personality of Wells G. Hippogryph soon warmed up. They were the big team on campus, everybody wanted to ask questions, have lunch with them, and make friends with. And they did, the team was nothing but kind. Then they had that godforsaken mission to do…" The Welder's voice had gone quiet, his head was pointed at the ground.

I walked up him as he leaned himself against the hood. "So, were you one of the friends?"

His head shot back at me. "No."

"A teacher of theirs you took a liken to?"

"Nope."

"A survivor of the attack?"

"NO!" He was now yelling, "No Takeda I wasn't any of those things!"

"Well could please explain who you are then, because you can't be one of the four because they are all dead!"

He just stared at me, I could see a little into his goggles and saw his eyes were furious. His head leaned back down and he crossed his arms. "They never found all the bodies…"

I couldn't believe what he was saying. "What?"

"When they came back to the village to assess the damage among the bodies they found Faith with a bullet hole in her head, Ashley with multiple puncture wounds, and Tracey's body was nearly unidentifiable after the Grimm had picked it clean. The only one they didn't find was the body of Wells. Coincidently a fire brewed in a forest shortly after, supposedly caused by the bandits to cover their tracks. They assumed they either took the boy or he died in the fire."

"So Wells was never found, eh?"

"Nope."

"I'm sorry," I placed my hand on his shoulder, "Wells."

He didn't need to say anymore, I figured it out. They didn't find his body because he was still alive. Wells G. Hippogryph was standing in front of me, he had become The Welder. "Don't call me that. I don't deserve it."

"And why not?"

"Because I failed!" Wells now stood up facing me and motioning his arms to the graves, "I failed **them** Takeda, they're dead because of me!"

"You can't say that Wells."

His head began to shake and he raised a fist. "I said," he punched me in the chest knocking me over, "stop calling me that! Wells G. Hippogryph died that day. What came the next day is this wretched, vile, and worthless piece of shit that calls himself The Welder! A murderer, a hitman, a hired gun, an executioner!"

"Fine then Welder!" I stood back up to face him, "What does this have to do with Ozpin?"

"Ozpin lied to us. It was to be an easy mission was what he told us."

"He could have been wrong."

"Oh really? Ozpin, the famed headmaster of the illustrious Beacon Academy screwed up? I don't think so, he wanted me gone for a long time."

"And why is that?"

"Because I've always had a issue with huntsmen." I stared back at him when he said this. Even as Wells he didn't like huntsmen back then. Why? I soon got my answer. "When I was brought to the orphanage it was by a huntsmen, most of the time it was a huntsmen who brought some child whose life was just ruined, we were told they were warriors who always saved the day. They were the like heroes in the stories they read to us. Well I saw otherwise, I saw their failures in the eyes of children crying, children who lost their parents a commodity I never had. During my third year at Beacon I began to feel these same feelings once again after being around huntsmen and huntresses suppressed these ideas and counteracted them. I saw a team fail a many payed the price and I saw the same thing happen to me as a child that I saw happening to them and it nearly broke me. I told Ozpin about these thoughts I told him he should go after the rat bastards who did this but he said a huntsman should not act in revenge, if they did then how were we any better than them. I nearly lost it, because of how society would view the act is the reason we couldn't go after them. I told Ozpin that society can be damned if that's your response. If something happens and if I need to get revenge then I will take those steps necessary, I will be the judge, jury, and if need be their executioner. He raised an eyebrow and told me to go back to my room to calm down. I just stood there, I can still remember his eyebrows narrowing and I remember turning my back on him and slamming my fist into the side of the elevator. That was when I stopped believing in the huntsmen and the lies they spread. No one group can truly keep the peace. Peace itself is an illogical fallacy to keep people to stay in line. The huntsmen cannot protect everyone and the police and military are their to react instead of proact They lied to me. They lied to us and we had to pay the price…"

What was I to do? Tell him he was wrong? He might kill me if I did that. Wells seemed to have a point, a skewed point but I digress, he saw the one thing he pursued gone in an instance but something still nagged me. "So why didn't you go back, they would say it would be a miracle if you came out of something like that."

"Yes you're right, I thought that same thing, but when I realized the actions I had taken I knew they could never accept me back. I had done the one thing that Ozpin said separated the huntsman from the monsters and I took the step across. I became that monster, the bandits didn't last long, I killed them. I killed them all or I let them burn in the fire."

"Welder I am sorry but going after Ozpin won't bring them back, sometimes you have to let sleeping dogs die."

"Funny when I was in Atlas I was going to tell you the same thing."

He struck a nerve and he knew it, he knew that I couldn't retort back to him. Even if his motivation was misplaced he knew I couldn't argue. The Welder had just help me kill a member of the family I was disgusted to be a part of. I sighed and look to the gravestones of his past life. "Well then Mr. Hippogryph," he turned to me, "Welder. What do we do now?"

"Simple," Wells explained getting back into his car, "we go kill Ozpin." He came back out of the car with a bouquet of flowers, where he got them from was a mystery. He placed a single rose on Ashley and Tracey's grave. He then placed the rest of the flowers onto the grave of Faith. _He must of loved her,_ I thought. No flowers were placed on his grave, I felt sorry for him. The fact that The Welder had said he was going to kill Ozpin so nonchalantly seemed a bit worrying to me. Sure any other person I would be happily on board, but this was Ozpin, the headmaster of Beacon Academy. He was constantly surrounded by the best upcoming fighters in the world, plus the teachers would be there too. I worry that we may not come out of this one.

The dock that housed the airships taking trips to Beacon were closed, it was the crux of night. There were no workers out, no people waiting for rides, nobody was there. Without hesitation The Welder broke open the entrance to the front, glass fell crinkling in the common sound it made. The sound made me turn my head reflexively making sure we weren't being followed. _Nobody… good._ Making his way to the ship I stopped to look at what we were about to do. It was a straight shot to Beacon, an open, dangerous, and bashful path to the school. We would be spotted in an instance, the two of us were probably being watched right now. The twin engines of the Bullhead roared to life, lighting the darkened floor.

"Takeda remove the locks!" Wells yelled from the open side door.

I walked over to the locks that held the wings in place while the engines roaring had calmed down but the hum was beginning to grow again. With a flip of my arm the links loosely fell in my hand. Placing them in between the lock and the wing I began to pull. The metal was cheap and broke easily, the pieces falling down with a mighty clang. The same could be said for the other side as the Bullhead soon was freed from its restrictions. I got in and sat in the passenger seat as Wells maneuvered the Bullhead out of the dock. We must have passed some sensor as a male robotic voice came over the Bullhead's radio.

"Stop," its monotone voice rang out, "You are not cleared for takeoff. Please turn off engine while the authorities come."

I never did understand why they have those type of messages. If I'm going to commit a crime then why put a voice saying I should wait for the authorities? The Welder shared this same sentiment as he ignored the voice and raced the Bullhead at a speed that was much too fast for the insides of the hangar. As I looked forward I understood why he was in a hurry as the blast doors were beginning to close. It was going to be close, we might scratch the paint job. Hopefully they have insurance for people stealing the Bullhead, then using it to go kill a man of great importance. I assume it would be under liability? The door came to the front of the airship as the top and bottom teeth scraped up against the hull of the racing ship. We still made it through as I gave a relieved sigh.

"Don't get comfy yet," The Welder told me, "the worse is yet to come."

I noticed he looked back and cursed as multiple ships bearing the markings of police cruiser were already on our tail. Another, more human, voice came over the speakers in the Bullhead. "Stop, you are in restricted air space. State who you are and state your business. If you don't tell us soon we will take action."

The Welder just shrugged and press the communication button after adjusting the object in his scarf. "This is The Welder," his garbled and distorted voice said, "and I am going to kill Professor Ozpin. Any retaliation will be met with a swift death." While originally baffled by his bluntness it wasn't any better than not saying anything or making any sudden action.

The guy on the other end must have been dumbfounded, or scared my money's on scared, he was silent. Given the circumstances I would have done the same thing. Then one of the three ships following us began to open fire. With a nudge of the joystick the blast went under the wing and into the cliffs in front of us. He pushed a button and the side hatch opened behind us and stood up. "Takeda," he said to me while walking to the hatch, "would you take the controls? This will take but just a second." I didn't say anything just grabbed the control stick and kept it straight as the sound of an explosion from behind me nearly made me jump. A second went off, then a third, and then he returned retying the front of his coat. When he took the controls I took a moment to look behind me and saw the three ships from before slowly descending into the water. I did feel sorry, I had a hard time agreeing with the way The Welder would just kill, but he did warn them. Beacon soon came into view and it looked close, it seemed like Wells' plan was going to succeed. That was until one of the engines began to spark and go haywire, the shot from earlier must have grazed it and now was beginning to kill the engine. After a small explosion came a bigger one and The Welder wrestled for control, the ship wildly flailing about. I noticed the landing platform was nearby and got an awful idea.

"Welder!" I yelled pointing to the platform.

He must've picked up what was being told to him because he angled the ship towards the pad. With a spin of my chains I broke the windshield and we both jumped out. Finding a lamppost I latched the chain so I didn't have to hit the ground too hard. I swung over and over the before I used my free arm to stop myself. The Welder decided to land on the ground rolling several times before standing back up (the showoff). When he stood he appeared to be unphased by the Bullhead crashing behind him, the sound of its dead hull scraping behind him and the explosion made the guy look like an action hero. After getting down the two of us regrouped taking shelter behind a wall. Wells' had peered his head around the corner and then turned back.

"The Tower is the tallest building," he said as I peered my head over the corner. It was far, the Wells understated that fact with what he said next, "It's the farthest building, I am unsure what kind of resistance we will encounter. If it's a perfect storm, then we should have none."

"Shouldn't we worry about the students?" I asked finding it important to point that fact.

"I'm not worried about them," his torches activating for a quick second before turning off, "besides they are in another kingdom for the Vytal Festival tournament in the upcoming week."

"Did you plan this all out?"

"Nope, just happen to be this way."

The Welder than ran with me following him behind his heels. I've never to Beacon, it was a lovely place, I bet it's way more beautiful in the daylight, with students, and the two of us not trying to murder their headmaster. The main buildings were behind us when we were stopped by a voice.

"Welder stop!" A male voice yelled.

We both stopped and turned to see a student, an older student at that too, in the pitch black of night you could see his spiked orange hair and scraggly beard to match. He must have worn a black tank top because you could see his arms but not much of his body. The Welder chuckled a bit and put his hands in his pockets. "Why hello Vulcan. It's so nice to see you again"

Confusion would be a good word to describe my face as I turned to Wells. "Wait," I said pointing a kunai at the kid, "you know this guy?"

"Remember when I told you about that cult?" He asked me.

"No, not at all," I stated a matter of fact, "I think I would remember something as strange as that." I honestly don't recall him telling me about that."

"Well then," The Welder stated clapping his hands together, "you and Vulcan can spend a lovely time talking about it." The Welder then began to continue walking.

"Wait!" Vulcan yelled catching Wells by surprise, "What are you doing here?"

Without taking a second to decide The Welder spoke. "I an here to kill your headmaster, Ozpin."

While someone of his age might have laughed it off he just stared at The Welder. "Fine then," he said putting a hilt into the side of a metal pack on his back pulling a blade like magic, "I will stop you." Vulcan then lept raising a second blade from his side pack.

I had to act, if The Welder got distracted then he wouldn't be able to complete his task. I threw my two chains as they wrapped around his waist I brought him down like a bag of bricks. He looked to me in surprised. "Go," I said to him, "fly you fool."

Without another moment he began to run to the tower. I pulled back my chains and wrapped a portion of them up leaving a few feet hanging off my arms. The kid named Vulcan stood back up holding his stomach then cracked his neck and smiled. "Well then this will be fun," he said before running at me with his two swords.

The kid gave a downward swing that was blocked by one of my chain covered arms. After pushing him away I swung at his feet with an elongated chain. Vulcan was caught and fell over as I brought my other chain in a downward lash. Rolling away the chain missed his face and got back up with a small jump like a fish does when out of water. After getting my chain back and rolled up I swung a fist at him. He backhanded it aside and threw a punch connecting and landing the blow. My head recoiled back and I knew a second blow was oncoming. Raising my other arm I grabbed his left hand as he tried to slash me. Pulling his arm in I kicked his chest sending him a few feet back. I took this time to unravel more of my chains and separate my distance. Taking a notice to this he kept his distance, his mind was now thinking about how to get in. He placed a sword into the side and pulled out hand axe. _Interesting,_ I thought. I began to whip my chains on the ground sending small shocks and denting the ground. With small flourishes I crossed the links between each other and tried to confuse the kid. The charade ended as I threw out the kunai tips at him. Latching onto both his arms I pulled him in, he had gotten wiser to my dismay. Originally struggling to pull back he stopped resisting and jumped to me. I couldn't unravel my chains in time as his two weapons slashed against my body. My aura took the hit but you still feel a bit of pain. I was able to get multiple strikes in causing my body to violently jerk with each hit. I put a stop by grabbing the hand that held the axe, his sword was also soon stopped. We stood there, in the lonely courtyard of Beacon with nobody in it but the two of us, we were in an arm lock neither one of us wanted to surrender to.

"So let me ask you why?" Vulcan said to my face, "Why help The Welder?"

My answer would confuse the boy for years to come…

 **-Switching to The Welder's perspective-**

When I left Takeda to take care of Vulcan I looked back as their forms got smaller and smaller. _Don't kill him Takeda,_ I thought to myself, _he's a good kid and maybe one of the few honest huntsmen out there._ The Tower grew and grew in size until I stood in front of the massive building. It had been so long since I had been to these steps. The last time I willingly went here was to give my opinion to Ozpin about revenge. Beacon hadn't changed much in my absence, the buildings held their pristine white color while the Tower still had that green glow. Stepping in my mind remembered the smell, the sights, and the sounds. My mind threw images of a younger me walking into the tower and going into the elevator. My mind also threw the image of me storming out of the room slamming the door nearly breaking it. Looking back I still don't know if it was a good idea to talk to him about how I felt. For the few years I spent at Beacon I could feel his eyes were always judgemental of me, he was impressed by my skills, but he never got along with how I voiced my opinions or rather just my opinions in general. But the time for memories was over, I had a job to do. No not a job, I had to fulfill a promise. A promise I made to the girl who I never got to tell that I loved her, a girl whose body laid in my arms, a girl named Faith…

 **-To the perspective of Professor Ozpin minutes before The Welder and Takeda crashed-**

I looked around at a scattering of letters. I took a sip from my cup and stared at them. Whoever this Welder was, he seemed to have it out for me. I feel that something may happen in the future but I am not worried. For now I must turn my attention to a Anniversary of a team who died long ago, I have to give a speech about the four who died in their service. Glynda soon came in stepping rather quickly out the elevator. She didn't even let me say hello.

"Sir we have a problem," she said urgently.

"Oh," I paused taking a sip, "and what problem would that be?"

A screen came up showing footage of two men taking a Bullhead from the dock heading to Beacon. One of the heads looked towards the camera and then I saw it. The face of The Welder. I have not met The Welder but the Council has expressed interest in me finding him before he causes mass panic. But everytime I send in somebody they never comeback, I almost turned to Qrow to go find him. I have not met The Welder yet, I have only read the letters he has sent me. It looks like we get to meet. The sound of an explosion catches our attention and we turn behind us to see three police airships falling into the water with the stolen Bullhead coming our way. It looks like I get to meet this man after all…

 **-Back to The Welder-**

The elevator ride took, what felt like, an eternity to get to the top floor, to my target, to Ozpin. Knowing that if he saw me standing there a certain professor who always clinged to his side would surely make quick work of me. I took a deep breath and pulled my second to last explosive and cloaked myself. Then the last circle flashed and the doors opened.

The two, Ozpin and Miss Glynda Goodwitch, stood in the office. Glynda looked stunned while Ozpin stared in my direction as if he knew I was there. Hastily I threw the grenade, when it left my touch it became visible, its red light began to flash. Glynda in a fit of fear brought out her riding crop and a purple aura surrounded the bomb and she flung it out the window and exploded soon after. _Perfect,_ my mind went as I ran towards her still cloaked. Miss Goodwitch felt the unknown force of my palm grabbing the side of her head and smashing it into a wall and quickly backing off. She looked confused as her head whipped back and forth looking for where I was. With a quick punch to the face she sprawled back and I grabbed her arm only to punch her into the ground. She was about to get up until I kicked her in the chin and she went out like a light. It was then that Ozpin spoke.

"Welder!" He yelled picking up his cane, "Enough! I'm the one you want, leave her out of this!"

"Oh," my natural voice said as I uncloaked revealing my trenchcoat body to him, "how funny. I thought the same thing years ago."

"I don't know who you are or what I did to warrant this!"

 _You liar,_ my mind flared as anger began to consume me. I wanted no more of his lies as images of their faces and then **her** face came in. "You say you don't know me!?" I roared in anger reaching into my coat pocket, "Well here's something to jog your memory!" He got into a defensive stance while I pulled a weapon from the inside of my coat. It was originally folded but as I brought it out it assembled itself to its true form. The folded weapon shifted, and separated into a large battle axe. It was double sided, larger than me, and was colored white primarily with orange highlighting the outer edges. On the bladed ends though they were discolored with the staining of blood. I brought the weapon down onto Ozpin. He blocked it by setting up a bubble like barrier around his body. The weapon setting sparks off as it clashed with the shield. Ozpin's eyes shot wide as the shield enlarged and pushed me back holding the axe in my two hands.

"You're alive," Ozpin uttered.

"Surprised?" I growled, "Surprised to see me alive after all these years?"

"We never did find you Wells. I always had my suspicions."

 _He doesn't deserve to call me that! He let us be slaughtered!_ I thought as I went in for another strike. He caught me and jabbed furiously with his cane. It didn't hurt, nothing hurt, nothing could hurt more than the pain that I already felt. "You let us die!" I yelled between clashes of our weapons, "Butchered like animals!"

"I could not have known the bandits were so bloodthirsty!"

"Or maybe you did."

"What is that supposed to mean?!"

"Ozpin I know you have a way of doing things. You act all mysterious and foreshadowing to cover it up but I saw what the huntsmen were. A bunch of failures! They brought nothing but the failures of missions as I saw more children cry than any one man should bear. I saw my team killed before my eyes, the woman I loved shot dead! What do you think my mind is going to think!"

"I think that you are lost! I would never let a bunch of people die for my own gains. If you truly believed what you told me those years ago then you were never meant to be a huntsman!"

Those words dug into me like knives and only furthered my anger. "I was never to be a huntsman?! So what I should've just rotted away in that piece of shit orphanage?! I chose that life because I wanted to prove myself wrong!" I had finally landed a blow on him and he fell down, his cane knocked to side. I raised my axe for the final blow. "I was wrong about everything…"

I swung down but it was Takeda's voice that caught me off guard and made me stop.

" _ **Wells STOP!"**_

 **-Switching back to Takeda's perspective during the fight against Vulcan-**

"Don't you understand?" I asked a confused Vulcan, "The Welder has wanted to kill Ozpin for years."

I set the young huntsmen in training down from my chains and armlock now that he had calmed down a bit. He continued in his confused look, "Yeah I do and what he should go do that?"

"Do you honestly think The Welder can kill Ozpin?"

"I uhh-"

"He can't."

"What makes you say that?"

I sighed and looked back to the kid, "Killing Ozpin has been what's keeping The Welder along all these years," I explained, "he had nothing to start with and he lost everything he's gained using Ozpin as a scapegoat for his problems. So do you think that if he kills Ozpin he would be able to find something else to keep him going?"

"You're saying that if he kills Ozpin, he basically kills himself?"

"Just about, he has no other reason to live."

"Well should we stop him?"

"No I think he'll be fine."

The sound of one of The Welder's grenade filled the air, the sound smashing all the silence. We both looked at each other and we knew what we had to do. We raced to the elevator in what seemed like the most awkward and longest elevator ride in history. Here I was about to stop The Welder with a guy who I had just fought with, boy will Allison love this. The bell dinged and when the door opened Ozpin's office was a mess. The body of a woman laid on the floor unconscious, a broken window with a small hole, the room was in a mess with a desk flipped over, and there was Wells G. Hippogryph wielding a large bloodstained battle axe standing above Ozpin.

Vulcan quickly went to the aide of the woman on the ground calling her 'Miss Goodwitch'.

"...I was wrong about everything," his voice called out as he brought the axe up above Ozpin's head.

I had to stop him. Before he made a mistake he would regret. " _ **Wells STOP!"**_ I yelled at him as the axe came down.

He stopped and froze the axe just above his hair. The Welder turned to me and I felt the fear when I first had encountered him at his warehouse long ago. "Takeda what in damn god's name are you doing?!" His voice roared, he was loud enough for three people.

I sighed and look the broken man that stood before me. "Don't do this man, what the hell are you going to get out of this?"

"I will finally get revenge Takeda! Revenge for **them**!"

"Yeah and then what?! They'll still be dead, you can't bring them back. I know I shouldn't be talking but nothing comes from bloodshed, just more bloodshed. You have a chance to stop right here so please take that chance."

This only got Wells more furious. He removed the axe from above Ozpin's head and placed it into a resting position. "Stop?! Just stop right here when I'm so close?! Why do you think I've worked so hard to kill this pathetic excuse for a human being. I know they're dead Takeda! That's why I want to avenge them!" He then turned back to Ozpin, "I can't stop now!"

"Then what will you become?!"

"I was never something to begin with Takeda. No past, no future, and no chance of redemption," The Welder then grabbed his scarf and goggles, "you want to know what I will become, it would be better to ask what I am now!" The Welder ripped off his scarf and goggles revealing the horrific, tired, and beaten face of Wells G. Hippogryph. I was in awe, for months and years the cops, the media, and public have all wanted to see the man behind the disguise. Yet as I looked at it I think it felt better to have his scarf cover his face. Wells had become a man ashamed of his own face because of his failures, he had become a man of failures, it's all he saw, he saw himself as a failure. "You happy Takeda?! This is what I have become! This wretched! Disgusting! Vile! Cancerous! Repulsive human being! I have one last promise to fulfill and no one, not you, not Vulcan, and nobody can stop me." Wells then raised his axe, I was still in shock I didn't have time to react and Vulcan was caring for Miss Goodwitch.

"Wells don't!" I reached a hand out as the axe fell one more time. I closed my eyes not wanting to look at what I helped do.

Nothing happened, just silence, I opened my eyes to see Wells seemingly frozen. Not encased in ice, just his body didn't move. His stare was still there but nothing was happening. What happened to Wells…

 **-Switching to Wells-**

"...I have one last promise to fulfill and no one, not you, not Vulcan, and nobody can stop me," I told Takeda before bringing my axe down.

I had waited so long for this moment, finally I can rest. Before my axe fell on the filth that was Ozpin's head everything went black…

When my eyes opened I awoke in a grassy field surrounded by the blackness of space and stars. It was a sight I never wanted to see again. The field, the sounds, it was all too familiar. Tears began to form in my eyes as a voice I thought I never would hear called out. "Wells."

"No," I said to the feminine voice behind me, tears were now streaming down my face already.

"Wells," it called out again, "please turn around."

"I can't."

"And why not?"

"Because I'm ashamed."

"Ashamed of what?"

Reflexively I turned around. "Because I'm a asha-" I stopped for a minute looking down at the grassy ground, "ashamed of what I've become."

I felt a hand on my chin lift my head and the tears in my eyes only got worse. "Why are you ashamed?" Came the voice of the girl who stood before me, the girl who I lost all those years ago, the girl I loved. Faith.

"Because I failed to save you, I wasn't strong enough," I managed to get out between sobs.

"Wells, there wasn't anything you could do."

"Please don't say that."

"Wells please listen to me. You were the most quiet, scared, and powerful kid I knew. You told me things that would have broken me but you were able to persevere through that. There wasn't anything anything in heaven or Remnant you could have done to save us, if you tried you probably would have died with us."

"But not a day goes by that I wish I did."

"Wells you dummy," she punched my shoulder, "then what would happen to all the people you've affected."

"You mean the people I killed?"

"No," she brought up people like Takeda, Vulcan, Petra Hamelin, and then the young faunas girl Faith from the village I met so long ago, "these people. If you didn't help vulcan he could still be in that cult trapped, Takeda could be dead trying to go after his family, Petra would have had to fight those pirates by herself. Wells you've helped more people than you imagine." It was then that she brought up Ozpin, "After what happened he was distraught, never had a team been killed in the field. He questioned what he was doing and whether he was doing it right. A whole kingdom, a whole world, pulled their support for the four of us."

"You mean for the three of you. I was there at the funeral, nobody showed up for me."

"Except for Ozpin, he was there for you."

"That man hated me."

She got up close to me and placed a hand on my cheek. "No he didn't. After when you stormed out of his office he called me to tell me about the conversation. He found it helpful to hear a different opinion besides the same old one. He said that you would change the face of what it meant to be a huntsman. None of us could really fathom at the time what that could mean."

"Faith," it was the first time I had said her name and more tears came down, "look what I have become. I'm a monster. I've become this thing of hatred and revenge. I don't think I could ever go back."

"Wells do you remember my mother?"

It was an odd question but yes I had met when I had nowhere to go over a long break and Faith invited me over than have me stay in Beacon all alone. "Yes I vaguely do."

"Well she had a saying. There are some things that we cannot control. Nature has set a path for us that cannot be strayed from. If we do then it violently corrects itself. It may take five years, it may take five minutes but life will always be on course. It something we have to live with."

I knew what she was trying to tell me, I had to accept the fact that they were gone, and I couldn't do anything about it. It was something I had told myself that I already accepted the fact but I never truly believed it. I caressed her cheek and removed her hair to look into her beautiful eyes that I had longed for so for years. "Faith I-I-"

She didn't need to hear what I was going to say, she already knew, she kissed me. A kiss I had longed for since my days at Beacon, I kiss I longed for as I held her dead body in my arms, a kiss that I had longed for my entire life. She pulled away, I knew what was going to happen…we had to say goodbye. "I have to go now," she said looking up to me.

"I understand."

"We'll be waiting for you," as she motioned her arms the two other members of my team came into view and it nearly sent me into tears to see them, "but you still have a job to do."

"I do?"

"Don't worry I'll be here for you." As she separated from my grasp

She began to walk away from me before something popped into my head "Before you go though I want to say one last thing."

"Oh and what's that Wells?"

 **-Back to Takeda in The Tower-**

It had been several minutes since Wells had froze I thought about going up there. Either to get Ozpin or see if Wells was alright. As I took a step Wells took a breath but didn't move his arms, his breathing was shaky, hitched even. Tears streamed down his eyes like gushing waterfalls as he dropped the axe from his hands with a loud clang that shook Ozpin up it even woke Glynda up from her comatose state. He looked at his hands which were trembling, he looked towards me with fear in his eyes that I thought was not possible for somebody who was enraged mere moments ago. He approached me and then hugged me. Vulcan gave me a look of confusion which made me shrug. The Welder was crying, hard, somehow when I looked to Ozpin he didn't seemed too unphased by this but when did ever change. He let go of me and turned to the headmaster who he tried to kill minutes ago.

"Ozpin I must apologize," he wiped away his tears he was about to say something else but was stopped by the headmaster.

Ozpin picked up his axe and gave it to him. "It's fine Wells, I understand."

"Ozpin I must take my leave now, the damage I have done is too immense. I must remove myself."

"Go Wells."

"Before I go I want to tell you this: There are some things that we cannot control. Nature has set a path for us that cannot be strayed from. If we do then it violently corrects itself. It may take five years, it may take five minutes but life will always be on course. It something we have to live with." He paused for a while before continuing, "Ozpin make sure you never disrupt that balance."

All he did was nod and walk back to Glynda and Vulcan.

"Weld-" Vulcan stuttered, "Wells I think I still owe you an answer?"

He waved it off. "Don't worry kid it's fine. Now then Takeda, we must take our leave."

I was relieved but concerned on one key fact, "Yeah but we have no way of getting out of here."

"Oh I think I can help with that," Ozpin told me.

The next thing I knew Wells is driving a new Bullhead down to his warehouse. "So what happened?" I asked him during the ride.

"Huh?" He asked still focused on what was in front of him. His face had changed slightly, he appeared more human.

"When you froze what happened?"

A small smile found its way onto his face. "I got to meet an old friend."

We landed down in front of the warehouse doors. Wells walked out slowly and seemed to take it in one more time. "This is where I take my leave Takeda."

"Wait here? They saw the two of us leaving Beacon on a Bullhead they'll find you. Arrest you. Kill you."

"Takeda I died a long time ago according to most people. They seem so bent on that fact that they already my gravestone," his voice seemed more chipper. He pulled out his detonator and pushed the button on top and the warehouse was soon filled with explosions. Fire filled the air, soon police and firefighters would show up. What was he planning? He turned to me and looked me straight in the eyes. "Takeda Donati it has been a pleasure." He had grabbed my hand and shook it. Wells then began to walk into the flame engulfed building.

I took off my helmet, I had tears streaks on my face. "This can't be goodbye?" I asked as I began to cry.

He turned to me and his smile was still there, it seemed even more honest. His appearance outlined by the fire behind him. "You know someone told me something a long time ago. If you don't say goodbye it's like they're really never gone, they're just not here right now." He stopped to take off his hat and threw his scarf and goggles at me, "so I'm just not going to be here right now." He then walked into the building a geyser of flames engulfing him.

I walked closer expecting him to come back out. "Wells wai-" my plea was cut off by a bigger, louder, more fiery explosion causing the walls and roof of thewarehouse to fall in. I fell to my knees in tears still holding the apparel he wore on his head clutching them. The next day it was said that the warehouse burnt down due to an electrical failure, why there was power running through there was still a mystery. That same day during his speech about The Anniversary Ozpin mentioned that he had seen The Welder die, personally seeing the footage of his death. The Welder was officially declared dead in all kingdoms. But the public didn't know, only those four people who were awake in The Tower knew what happened that night…

 _Dear Ozpin,_

 _Hey Ozpin it's me Takeda I just thought you would like a letter, I don't know if you get many of these so I'm sorry if it takes a bit of time for you to read it. It's weird to think that it's been a year since… that day. It seems like yesterday I ambushed The Welder trying to get his contract on Mr. Sherwood. Oh Allison says hi too, I don't know if you remember her from when you visited us in Atlas. We got engaged, so that's cool. Maybe you can officiate for us, you're a pretty damn good speaker. I miss him, alot, and the shrine I have for him is getting a ton more attention now that The Anniversary is coming up. I must ask: did you know? Did you know that Wells was alive all these years? Or did you think he died like everybody else? Oh how has Vulcan been doing since he graduated? I know I was stoked to fight alongside this time instead of against, the guy has a mean left hook. Umm listen I know you're busy but if you stop by the graveyard during the anniversary could you pick up some roses? Put one on Tracey's and Ashley's and put the rest on Faith's. Oh and put one of Wells's, his always looked a bit lonely…_


End file.
